


As The World Falls Down

by Sakurazuma



Category: Original Work, not a fandom
Genre: Accidental Plot, Age Difference, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Apocalypse kind of thing, Comfort/Angst, Deaths can't be avoided it is gonna happen, Do You Want to Build a Snowman?, Everybody seems gay for some reason, Expect Anything Really, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Future Mpreg, Government Experimentation, I Don't Even Know, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, It's Hard To Be A Captain, It's Hard and Nobody Understands, It's Not Paranoia If They're Really Out To Get You, Just Checking If You're Reading The Tags, Just Started Really HAHAHAH, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Making stuff up as we go, Maybe some smut or maybe not, More tags will be added as the story progress, Nightwalkers Who Pretends To Be Smart, Not Beta Read, Original Character Death(s), Past Child Abuse, Past Sexual Abuse, Rebuilding Society, Romantic Fluff, Sexual Content, Should Probably Have Tagged That Long Ago, Sorry Not Sorry, Story Writes Itself, The Author Regrets Nothing, There's A Tag For That, Wordcount: Over 50.000, don't kill me if you get attached to a char and I kill him off, nightwalkers, possibly, probably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-27
Updated: 2016-10-06
Packaged: 2018-07-10 11:14:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 72,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6982372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sakurazuma/pseuds/Sakurazuma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He turned around in his bed, moving around in it clearly panicking, with sounds of sobs and small cries as confirmation about the kind of dream he was having. However, no one was in his room to witness it, which he preferred.  As much as the world was awfully lonely and cold, he found the thought of depending on others terrifying. Not because he did not want to disappoint them, nor because he was scared how’d they feel if he ended up dead somehow. No. His only reason to keep the people around him at a safe distance was simply that he couldn’t afford experiencing the loss of another loved one again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meet The Captain

**Author's Note:**

> Ain't gonna apologies for bad grammer and such, english ain't my native laungage, and that's gonna be my excuse for that. Mh-hm.
> 
> Name is Saku and welcome to my first real story here :3
> 
> So I don't know what it's all about yet, except the world ended, and now it's filled with somthing I'm gonna call 'nightwalkers' unable to come up with a better name for them. I don't know more about it than you do, so I'm looking forward to explore this story with you as it progresses! 
> 
> With that said, enjoy the reading, and don't be frightened to comment and such.  
> I don't bite. that often at least :'3

He turned around in his bed, moving around in it clearly panicking, with sounds of sobs and small cries as confirmation about the kind of dream he was having. However, no one was in his room to witness it, which he preferred.  As much as the world was awfully lonely and cold, he found the thought of depending on others terrifying. Not because he did not want to disappoint them, nor because he was scared how’d they feel if he ended up dead somehow. No. His only reason to keep the people around him at a safe distance was simply that he couldn’t afford experiencing the loss of another loved one again. He didn’t want to add more nightmares to the collection he already had. Though new nightmares always somehow found their way to him anyways, but then again, how could they not. Surviving the event of the end of the world, and now having to live in the new world, wasn’t exactly a walk on a damn rainbow.  No, far from it.

 

A door slams open in the distance, but he couldn’t really tell if it happened in his dream at first. He can hear someone call out ‘little one’, before the brightness of lights getting switched on forces him to open his eyes. “What the hell…”He whispers in a disturbed voice that both trembled and showed annoyance at the same time.

“Sorry, little one. But you said to wake you when the first team got back. They’re back, and kinda waiting to report, so get your cute butt dressed and up there.” Hiro chuckled and patted him on the head.

Shaking his head, the sleepy one somehow managed to get out of the bed, starting to dress himself. “I told you to stop calling me that. My name is not ‘little one’..” Eiki hissed at him.

Hiro, one of the few people he would admit being one of his friends, just smiled and shrugged. “It’s cute, besides, I like calling you something you wouldn’t accept anyone else calling you.”

“I won’t accept you calling me it either, moron.. Use my name.”

“Alright, Ei-chan.”

“Drop the ‘–chan’!” Eiki snapped with a look at Hiro as if the guy brutally offended him. “Call me Eiki, you big rock. Just Eiki.”

Hiro laughed on his way out. “You’re cute when you’re all snappy and cranky. Anyways, the team is still back and waiting, so I’ll let you to it. Hurry up, little one!”

Before Eiki could snap back at him, the door was closed and he was left alone again. Displeased by the annoyance, he finished dressing himself, in the clothes that as torn and worn out as they were, still did its job. He jumped in his shoes, and started to head out the door, quickly grapping a hairband on the way.

 

Quickly running his small slim fingers through his long grey hair, trying to sort out the massive filters in it, he walks down the corridor towards the elevator. Their base was located underground, in a facility that had belonged to the government before the world as they knew it ended that is. There was no such thing as a government anymore.

Everything above ground was nothing more than ruins and dangers lurking everywhere. How they found the base was entirely by luck really, though some survivors seem to think Eiki had known of it’s existence all along. But truth is his group simply randomly stumbled across it in the middle of nowhere. The city they came from was roughly two days away on foot, but since the base already had vehicles on the upper level, getting back and forth to the city wasn’t really an issue, as long as they were still able to find gas for them on the raids to the city. But he knew it would become a problem in the long run. Sooner or later the city would run out of supplies for them, not only gas, but also all the other more critical resources that kept them alive. Lucky for him, he didn’t need to worry about that right now. But if the raids they sent out there for supplies kept bringing new survivors back them, he’d have to worry sooner that he’d like. Not that they didn’t have the room for more, the base had plenty room to shelter many more. It was only the feeding and caring for them that worried him, no matter how useful they might be.

One cannot deny getting more doctors or fighters is very useful, and everyone here had their assignments or jobs.

“Eiki-san!” A gently voice called behind him, as he tied hos long hair up in a quick high ponytail. He looked back and gave off a short smile. It was their researcher, or scientist, or what else you might label him as.

“Michi.. I thought you were already on level A. It’s not like you being late when a team returns home.” The small man, yet still taller than him, shook his head with a sigh.

“I know, I just had to go through some papers before I could leave the lab. Hayate is more like a monkey than a man, really. I just can’t make any sense of his horrible handwriting”

Moving towards the elevator the young captain chuckled softly. “Ah well, remind me to thank him later, now that we can walk together. Makes me seem less late as well.”

The younger researcher smiled brightly as he nodded, stepping into the elevator with him. “I’m surprised you’re welcoming them back at all. I thought you were asleep, it’s only been two hours since you went to rest.”

Shaking his head, Eiki looked at the buttons, pressing the one to level A. “A captain has his duties, and I’m not the kind of captain who likes to sleep through them.”

Michi looked at him with the type of worrying look in his eyes, that Eiki simply couldn’t handle from anyone. “Stop looking at me like that. I can literally hear what you’re thinking.”

“You need to take better care of yourself.”

“And you need to stop sounding like Midori. I have enough with one over-worried doctor stalking me.”

Michi laughed over the complaint and shrugged. “She’s right, you know. You’re barely sleeping, you’re losing weight, and that hair of yours is a godforsaken mess. Seriously, I’m surprised you aren’t the root of the children’s nightmares yet.”

Raising an eyebrow the young captain smirked at him. “Please, we all know they run away screaming by the sight of you and those needles you love to give us shots with. They got no time to have nightmares about my hair, they’re too busy having them about you.”

“Touché.” The younger one hummed.  “But seriously-“ He started as the doors opened again. “We have no use of a dead captain, captain. We need you alive.”

Sighing mildly annoyed, Eiki followed him out and headed towards the waiting team of raiders.

 

“I am giving you an order, get rid of that. Why did you even bring it back here in the first place?” The vice-captain were already there, obviously, since Eiki was the one who was late. A clear anger was in his voice, as he scolded the raiders, that quickly grouped up against the older man defending themselves with loud yellings.

“What is going on here?” Eiki asked with a raised voice, commanding them to calm down, and they quickly turned their eyes his way.

“The idiots brought something other than what they were asked for back, that’s what’s going on.” The vice-captain answered him.

“Is that so? That’s weird, I thought I said only to bring back the listed things. But I can’t really keep them for grapping a few things they might want themselves, Youta. They are raiders, not our personal shoppers.”

“It’s not exactly a souvenir they decided to bring here, captain.” The tall man growled. Eiki gave him a warning look, and the older man stepped back with a disapproving sigh.

Eiki then turned his head towards the commander of the team and gave of a gentle smile, while Michi rushed to the vice-captain to calm him down. “So.. Sora. What is it exactly that you brought back, that seems to have upset my vice so much, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Still clearly offended, the blonde nodded towards the backseat of the vehicle. Eiki looked inside the window to the backseat and blinked in disbelieve. “What the hell is that?”

“That would be an infant, cap.”

“Yeah I can damn well see what it is, Sora. But where in earth did you find it?”

The blonde shrugged and leaned his back against the truck.

“We found him in the mall.” A weaker voice said, belonging to the newest member of the team, and also the youngest. Eiki turned his head towards him with a curious look in his eyes.

“I see.. And the mother? He’s practically a newborn, so she must have been around, no?”

The smaller boy shook his head. “We believe the mom was, uhm.. We think she abandoned him there and took off..”

The young captain rubbed his neck and looked up at the ceiling of the caves entrance. “Well then.. We don’t have anything to care for an infant here, but-“ He didn’t even get to finish his thought before the vice-captain interrupted.

“You shouldn’t have brought him here. Of course the mother abandoned him, do you have any idea how hard it’ll be to keep him alive? It’s hard enough to keep children we already have alive, and they’re all over toddler age, not to mention no one wants to take any real parenting responsibility over them. It’s too much of a risk.”

The young captain quickly starred at him with a harsh tone in his voice. “Alright, that’s enough! First of all, the children happens to be our future. We can’t rebuild the world without them, so for all I care, they are even more important than any of us. And second, don’t you dare blaming them for their humanity, you should cherish that they even have anything of that left.”

Youta immediately fell silent and looked away, while Sora and the raiders started shoving some weak relieved smiles aimed at each other.

“With that said-“ The captain continued. “He isn’t entirely wrong. Taking care of that boy will be difficult.” He looked at Sora again considering their options.

Sora smiled nervously and sighed. “Cap.. We already got the most necessary things. Diapers, infant formulas, and some clothes.. Only for a month, but..”

The captain nodded with a warm smile. “Alright then. I guess your team will be in charge of making sure we have enough of that to care for him from now on then, since it was you who brought him here. But before I make that little order of mine permanent-“ He turned his head towards Michi, only catching a glimpse of the vice-captain stomping his way towards the elevator. “I want you and Midori to check up and test him through for anything possible. I don’t want to take him in, just to have him suddenly turned into a nightwalker on us. I want him isolated till it’s confirmed that he’s clear and nothing more but an infant.” He looked back at Sora reassuring and patted him on the shoulder. “We’ll figure out what to do once he’s cleared, and that’s my decision.”

Sora nodded weakly and gave his team a calm look, as Michi with that bright smile of his reached in and got the baby out of the truck. “Your word is my command, captain. Come on then, little one, let’s go see the nice doctor.”

“No thank you, I’m not done talking with the commander yet.” Eiki responded automatically, which to his surprise, made the commander and the rest of the team chuckle.

“I was talking to the baby, Eiki-san. I see Hiro’s nickname finally grew on you, hm?” He sang while disappearing into the elevator.

“Urgh.. I really just did that, huh..” Trying really hard not to, the commander and his raiders finally bursts into laughter.

“Nothing wrong with that, cap. It is uhm.. “ clearly unable to actually come up with something to end that sentence, the commander just laughed and Eiki crossed his arms over his chest, anything but amused.

“Alright, that’s enough, haha. Other than the baby, is there anything else I should know about your trip?”

Still trying to get the laughter under control, the commander rubbed his dirty face in his hands, as if that would help him calm down again, while the raiders did their best to accomplish the same. “Erh.. Yes, cap. Sorry.” He took a deep breath and looked the captain in the eyes. “I’m not sure, but it seems like the nightwalkers has somehow evolved. We fell across a few in the mall when we ripped the food store. They’re faster now. And stronger, I think..”

The captain didn’t like those news one bit. If they were changing, they needed to know about exactly how as soon as possible, if they were to keep being able to protect themselves against them. “Alright..”

He stroked his bangs away from his face, and Sora bit his lip as the captains black eyes showed a worrying concern.“We had no troubles taking them down though. But one of them threw a freezer after Ren. I don’t recall them being able to do that before.”

Eiki scratch his cheek, a habit he’d grown whenever he was uncertain or nervous of something.“They weren’t.. But if they’re changing, small things like more strength or speed might not be the only way.” He looked at Sora who suddenly seemed frightened by the thought. “I need you to go to Michi and tell him what you saw, Sora. If they are changing, we need Michi on it straight away.” 

The commander nodded obediently, and Eiki gave him one of his reassuring smile again, before he started to walk towards the elevator. “I’m gonna send a team up here to unload the supplies, you guys are dismissed. The only order I have for you now is the get your asses into a shower, you seriously stink. All of you.” He looked back at Sora and the rest of the guys smiling widely, as he stepped into the elevator ad pressed the button. “Good job with the baby. It’s nice to know you’re all still good guys, you know.”

The doors closed and the elevator steadily started to move down.  


	2. Meet The Asshat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Down on level B, Hiro was already back in the control room doing what he did best. Which is, best described, rocking on his chair with headphones on, pocky’s dangling from his lips humming to whatever music he had put in the discplayer next to the radio, scanning devices and whatnot he had to keep track of the raids and activity above ground. At first glance you wouldn’t think much of him. He was a good looking guy, no doubts about that. Average height, nicely muscular for a geek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.. Second chapter, yaaaay!  
> I know not much details are being described as good as I'd want them to be, but everything is still only comming together in my head, just as it is for you guys. Decided to put a slight feeling of angst in this chapter, though not anything heavy as I still feel it's to early for any of that.  
> With that said, I hope you'll enjoy the reading! :3

Down on level B, Hiro was already back in the control room doing what he did best. Which is, best described, rocking on his chair with headphones on, pocky’s dangling from his lips humming to whatever music he had put in the discplayer next to the radio, scanning devices and whatnot he had to keep track of the raids and activity above ground.

At first glance you wouldn’t think much of him. He was a good looking guy, no doubts about that. Average height, nicely muscular for a geek. Raven black hair that just reached down to his shoulders, and bangs that went down to his cheeks, not exactly straight but not curly either, just really messy in it’s own charming way. But his personality, if you didn’t know him that is, and the ways he expressed himself physically, would have you judge him as a big child slightly leaning to the dumb side. Nothing about him would lead you to think there was an actual genius hiding behind those warm grey eyes of his. And only the fewest people have actually seen a serious side of him.

Of course, the captain had already seen all sorts of sides of him, and knew him in ways most other people didn’t. But the two of them had also pretty much been together ever since the world fell down on them, and faced all the dangers of the new world almost hand in hand. It wasn’t a secret that he found himself highly attached to the young captain, but not in any romantic ways though. The bond they had was more like an odd but affectionate bond between two really close brothers. He didn’t know if the captain felt the same about him, but he never really felt the need to ask. They were in this together and they could count on each other, and that was all that mattered to him. Real trust was a rare thing nowadays, so why question it.

Blinking surprised as a gentle finger tapped his shoulder, he quickly removed the headphones and looked up at the captain who was smirking. “Oh, I’m sorry, did I startle you?”

Hiro chuckled as he ate the rest of the pocky. “Nah, I knew you’d show sooner or later. So what’s the news?”

The captain shrugged and sat down on a chair beside him. “Not much. I need to get in contact with the second raid. I need them to bring some stuff with them back, and I also need to hear if they’ve had any troubles with the nightwalkers.”

Hiro raised an eyebrow, but handed him the walkie. “Troubles?”

Eiki nodded slowly and gave of a short smile. “Mh, Sora reported some troublesome news I’m afraid. I wanna know if Anna’s team have seen anything similar.”

Holding up the walkie closer to his mouth, the captain sighed a bit before calling out to the commander. “Base to Anna, are you there Anna?”

He waited a bit before trying again, as Hiro studied him. They had a good active captain for sure, he knew Eiki liked to be involved in everything that went on, but it was still rare for him to call out to the raiders personally like this, so Hiro knew that whatever it was about, it had to be something important.

He smiled a bit slightly falling into his own thoughts, as he watched their captain finally getting contact.

Nothing about Eiki screamed captain-material at all, when it came to his appearance at least. He was tiny. Only 164 humble centimeters in height, and way too thin for what is healthy for him. But who wasn’t really, food wasn’t a critical thing. But to say everybody was well fed and couldn’t use more and everything was just picture perfect, would be a big lie. But at least they weren’t starving to death, and so far they could thank the captain for that. Even if he didn’t exactly look that manly and masculine, you couldn’t question his leadership abilities, and how that had brought them to where they were now. And the geek couldn’t help but admire the little one for that alone, though in his opinion, there was plenty of other reasons to admire him.

He blinked again, but this time with a confused expression on his face, when he heard the words ‘baby equipment’ sneak into his clouds of thoughts. “Wait what? What the hell do you need that for?” He asked not caring about interrupting anything whatsoever, and the captain sighed annoyed.

“I literally just said that Sora’s team brought a baby back with them, and we need it if we are to care for it. If you’re gonna listen to other people’s conversations, then do the polite thing and pay attention to the whole thing, and don’t interrupt me.” He turned his eyes away again and went back to his conversation with Anna. “As I was saying, we need a crib and other stuff a baby needs. I want your team to find it and bring it back here, and fast. Understood?”

Hiro snorted half offended and grapped another pocky to chew on, while listening to the scratching sounds from the walkie as Anna’s voice responded to the captain.

“Understood, captain. We were meant to move on to area 32, but since it sounds sort of urgent, we’ll leave that for the next trip. Was there anything else?”

Eiki nodded even though the other obviously couldn’t see that over the radio, and leaned back against the chair. “I was wondering if your team had experienced anything odd about the nightwalkers?”

“Well, if you would call parkour-expert-super-speed nightwalkers odd, then I will have to confirm positive on that one, captain. Took us very much by surprise, just a few minutes ago.”

The captain suddenly had a concerned look on his face, and it was only first now that Hiro noticed how shaken Anna actually sounded, though it was hard to tell over the radio noise. “What happened?”

Anna went silent for a while, which clearly made the captain very impatient. “Anna, what happened?” He asked again, this time with a firmer voice.

“I’m.. Still trying to figure that out myself, cap. Everything happened so fast. But we lost Jim.. I’m sorry, captain.”

Shaking his head the captain started rubbing his neck. Hiro bit his lower lip and looked down. “You have nothing to be sorry for. Get the stuff and get back here. And be careful, Anna. The remaining teams will be called back as well, no one is going out there again before everybody is informed about this. That is all, commander. Over.”

Silent, the captain placed the walkie on the table and grapped his own wrist thinking so hard it looked like it actually hurt him.

“Eiki..” Hiro started, but the greyhaired quickly interrupted him with a sharp look.

“None of your monitors have picked up on this change in the nightwalkers?” He asked.

Hiro shook his head slowly, uncertain of the look the captain had in his eyes. “No.. You know I would have informed you, if I had seen anything strange happening at all. I always do.”

Eiki tilted his head and then let of an apologizing smile. “I didn’t mean to sound as if I was blaming this on you, Hiro, I’m sorry.. I’m just.. We have people out there, not knowing what they’re facing anymore, and I don’t like it. Especially since I stayed back myself this time, it feels like-“

“Stop it.” Hiro broke him off bluntly. “You’re our captain, and I get that you feel responsible for everybody here, but truth is that it’s plain bull.”

“Hiro-“

Dismissingly he looked the captain in the eyes. “You are not responsible for anything that goes on out there. You didn’t call the end of the world down on us, and you didn’t create those things out there, Eiki. So shut up. You couldn’t have predicted any of that, and you can’t predict what will happen from now on either, so I won’t just sit hear listening to you blaming yourself for what happened to Jim, or anyone else out there.” He smiled a bit and dragged the smaller one into a hug. “You have done everything you could to prepare them, Eiki. But fact is, no matter how much you want to try to make sure no one ever gets hurt again, that’s simply not possible the minute they step outside this base. Every single one of them knows this. And they still do it, ‘cause we need it, and they know that too.”

The smaller one sighed heavily and snuzzled a bit against his chest. “I hate you..”

The grey-eyed grinned and nodded. “I know, I know. I’m sorry.” He patted him on the grey hair and smiled warmly. “Little one is just way to cute to be guilt-tripping himself like that.”A smack against the back of his head quickly made him laugh.

“Ass.” The captain mumbled as he got on his feet and turned to exit the room. “Get back to work. Call the teams back and make sure they get here. Safely.”

Still laughing, the black-haired saluted turned himself towards the screens again. “Yes captain. Lemme know if you need snuggles tonight, I’d be more than happy to act as comfort-teddybear.”

The captain snorted as he walked out the door. “That’s only gonna happen in your dreams. You stink too much.”

The door closed behind the captain, and the black-haired laughs got even louder.

 

* * *

 

  
Also placed on level B, was the lab and the doctor’s facilities. It was rare those two interacted with each other really, since the doctor and her assistants had their own smaller lab. Right now however, both Michi and Midori were to find sticking their heads together in Michi’s lab.

“Aaw, he’s so adorable! How could anyone just abandon such a treasure in a creepy place like that, is beyond my imagination.” Midori cooed as she examined the infants health, while Michi was busy was the blood samples.

“I’m not gonna be the one to judge the mothers choice. It’s not exactly a child-friendly environment out there..” He responded and sighed. “I’m not finding anything weird here. No diseases either.”

Midori shook her head and made a funny face at the tiny boy. “Nah, he seems like he’s just a healthy little baby boy to me. Thinner than I’d like to see a baby be, but pretty healthy for what you’d expect an abandoned baby found up there to be.” The baby starred curiously up at her swinging his tiny hands around.

“Dawrh! Don’t you worry little guy, we’ll have you all chubby and delicious in no time!”

Michi chuckled and turned towards them, getting back on his feet. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d fear you’d want to eat him.”

“You can’t blame me, when was the last time you saw one of these?”

“Hm.. Not since the day the apocalypse fell down on us. He is a sweet sight, I’ll admit that.”

The red-haired woman swung her braided hair out of the way with a cheerful smile and wrapped the little boy in the blanket again. “Hopes for the future restored.”

“You didn’t have any before?”

“No. Not for humans at least. Do you know any women here, that’d like to get themselves pregnant?”

The man pushed his brown bangs away from his faced and sighed. “Right. No reproducing, no new generations..”

“You can’t blame a woman for not wanting to endanger her children by giving birth to them. There’s no safe places anymore to raise these little dearies.”

Michi sighed and went over the boys file again. “Captain wants him isolated, but is that really necessary? He seems perfectly normal. None of the tests showed anything concerning, except him being malnourished.”

“Well..” The woman considered it for a bit and pushed her glasses back up. “I’ll keep him in the infirmary over the night. It’s empty for the moment, and if the captain wants him isolated, I recommend obeying his orders till he changes his mind. That way I can keep an eye on him too.”

Michi smiled shortly and nodded. “I can spend the night there as well, if you need help.”

The doctor lifted the boy up in her arms and embraced him gently. “Nonsense, you go get your beauty sleep. We’ll be just fine on our own. Won’t we sweetie, oh yes we sure will, everything is gonna be just fine.” She sang happily as she left the researcher alone in his lab.

He was not left alone there for long though, as the captain entered shortly after with a tired look on his face. “You look like you could use some fun times, Eiki-san.” Michi pointed out, without really looking at him.

Eiki snatched the file out of his hands and started looking them through without much reaction to it. “Maybe in the next lifetime. We lost Jim today.”

Michi immediately looked at him in shock. “…”

Eiki felt his look and shook his head slowly. “I’m really sorry, Michi.. I know he was a friend of yours. I don’t know what else to say, other than I’m really sorry.”

The researcher looked away and pulled the chair towards him. He sat down in silence and stared at the floor.

A couple of minutes went by like that, before he finally shrugged with a painful look in his green eyes.“Well.. You certainly know how to break such news in a gentle way, captain-“

A sound of shock escaped his lips as the captain clearly frustrated slammed the file on the table. “There is no gentle way of breaking news like that, Michi! He was your friend, and I am truly sorry for your loss, but I lost something too, you know. I lost a good soldier, one of the finest raider I had and who was out there on my command. Forgive me for giving you the news so bluntly, but I am just as upset as you are.”

He looked away, breathing heavily leaving the researcher speechless.

The room was quiet for a while, before he finally got back on his feet and rested a hand against the captain’s shoulder. “You know.. He took pride in his job, Eiki-san. He felt proud to serve our base in the way he did, and I know he never once regretted going out there, when you gave the order. Now.. Uhm. I’d like a moment to myself, if you don’t mind. I need to..”

The young captain quickly nodded and stroked the hand on his shoulder gently. “I know, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that, it’s just.. You were right. I am sorry, really.”

“I know, captain. I’m sorry too.”

Eiki looked him in the eyes and nodded silently. Then he turned around, scratching his cheek and headed towards the door again. “I’ll leave you to it then.. But if you ever need to talk, or just.. Well, anything at all, you know where to find me.”

He knew the grey-haired felt guilty. As much as he wanted to say something to him, he just didn’t really know what else to say, with his own emotions going nuts inside of him just counting down the second to where he could just let it go in peace. So all that he could put together was a smaller ‘thank you’ in response, before he turned his back to the captain, waiting for the sound of the door opening and closing again.

And then he just let it go.

On the other side of the door, the grey-haired stood leaning back against it, silently listening to the sound of the heartbreaking cries of the deceased’s friend, with a frozen look on his face, as if the time has simply stopped for him.

 

* * *

 

 

Youta, still annoyed by all the baby-business, was heading his way to the lower level, as the next meal had been announced to be ready, when he found the young captain standing frozen against the door to the lab. “Hm..?”

He could easily spot the trouble on the younger face, and quickly wrapped an arm around his shoulders, dragging him along. “Why don’t you walk with me. Time for dinner.”

The younger just let his legs carry him along. “Have you heard..?”

The older calmly nodded and shook up the youngers hair. “I have. And I’m certain my captain is smart enough to know, there’s nothing he could have done about it.”

The younger snorted and looked at his feet as they entered the elevator. “Remind me again why you aren’t captain. You’re older. More wisdom on life and all that.”

“Because I’d rather send an infant back on the streets, than facing the troubles with it.”

The younger smiled a bit and leaned a bit into the older’s embrace. “Yeah, that was a really bad call. At least give him a chance, don’t you think?”

Youta sighed annoyed and pulled the young one closer as the elevator’s doors closed, ensuring them privacy. “Well, on the spot, no. But I guess that’s why you’re the captain. The choice by the people.”

“Not really. I’ve been in charge since my group started. Just kinda stayed that way even with the group growing. But we never actually asked ‘the people’ if they thought that was a good idea..”

The older rolled his eyes and caught the youngers face between his hands, looking him straight in the eyes. “Alright, is it really a pity-party you want, or would you rather just trust that everyone are perfectly fine with you calling the shots?”

“Erh…”

The older pulled him back in and hugged him tightly. ”Besides, it’s not like you’re entirely alone here. You got me, and the commanders not to forget.”

“Since when the hell did you become this nice?”

“Since I suddenly remember what a softie you are.”

Eiki smacked him half-heartedly on the back. “Rude.”

The older chuckled. “Guess the ‘nice’ part didn’t last for long.”

Eiki smiled softly and shook his head. “At least you tried.” He felt a couple of fingers lifting up in a chunk of his ponytail.

“That’s less than what you can say about this bird nest of yours.”

“You making fun of my hair, Baldie?”

“I’d treasure it, if I still had anything to form a bird nest from.”

The younger grinned and stepped a bit away. “Ew, now it’s just getting creepy.”

Laughing they both prepared to leave the elevator. “Really though. If you want help with that mess, feel free to swing by.”

The doors opened and the younger stepped out first, heading towards the dining hall. “As if I’d trust my hair to a bald pervert and his fantasies. I think I’ll pass.”

“Pff, you wound me. I used to be a hairdresser, I’ll have you know.”

“See, that’s even more concerning. Judging by your baldness, I’d say you should stick to the nightwalker killing.”

“The assaults are strong today.”

Eiki looked up at him with a smirk. “It’s all love, Youta.”

The older frowned smiling amused. “You’re begging for a good old fashioned spanking, kiddo.”

“I’m not a kid..”

“Oh that’s right, 16 was it? Smart mouthed teen then.”

Eiki snorted and gave him a quick elbow in the ribs. “I’m 24. And your funeral was how close, walking corpse?”

“Please, I’m not even 40 yet. But realistically, could be tomorrow I suppose. Or in 30 minutes.”

The younger bit his lower lip and shook his head. “Better not. I still need you around here, so don’t get yourself killed anytime soon.”

The older placed a hand on his shoulder as they entered the dining hall. “I’ll do my best, captain.”

“Well, that won’t do. Don’t die on me. That’s an order, simple as that.”

“If you say so, captain.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whaaaat a rollercoaster ride there. Any kudos, comments left is highly appreciated! Thank you for spending your time on reading this :3


	3. Meet The Oblivious One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Morning, little one!” A cheerful voice called behind him.
> 
> “Sometimes I wonder if you really have a death wish, Hiro.” He grunted and tightened his ponytail. “Where are you planning to run off to this early?”
> 
> The black-haired man rushed to his side and dragged him into a morning-hug. “Well I knew you were planning to go see that baby, so I thought I should go and keep you company!”
> 
> “Urgh, let go of me you clingy skunk. ”
> 
> “What? I don’t smell that bad..” 
> 
> “I got a secret for you. Wanna hear it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so I hope the story is much easier to read now and very less confusing, as I changed my style of writing.
> 
> This chapter is a whole lot of dialog i think, that's at least how it felt to be when I wrote it xD
> 
> Not gonna say anything more than that, other than I hope you enjoy this chapter.
> 
> Happy reading!

The next morning, the captain left his room while the sun was only starting to rise above ground. He hadn’t slept as his own thoughts had kept him awake through the few hours he actually had to catch some sleep in. He couldn’t really help it, with the events of the previous day constantly hanging over his head like a cruel haunting cloud.

 

He gave off a sleepy yawn as he literally dragged his feet in the direction of the elevator, planning to pay the infirmary a visit, as he knew the female doctor had spent the night there with the infant. He looked around shortly confused in the brightly lit corridor, as he heard the noise of the older kids messing around in their dormitory, but then ended up smiling weakly to himself over the muffled laughter from their door, and pushed the elevators button, then waited for it to return to his floor.

 

“Morning, little one!” A cheerful voice called behind him.

 

“Sometimes I wonder if you really have a death wish, Hiro.” He grunted and tightened his ponytail. “Where are you planning to run off to this early?”

 

The black-haired man rushed to his side and dragged him into a morning-hug. “Well I knew you were planning to go see that baby, so I thought I should go and keep you company!”  
  
“Urgh, let go of me you clingy skunk. ”  
  
“What? I don’t smell that bad..”  

 

“I got a secret for you. Wanna hear it?”

 

Hiro tilted his head and stepped into the elevator with him as the doors opened. “What is it?”

 

“The base has showers. Use them.”

 

“Mean..”

 

Eiki looked up at him with that charming smirk of his. “I’m sure you could get Ren to show you how they work. I hear the two of you had quite a night in the laundry room the other week.”

 

Turning completely red the older quickly pushed the button to level B. “Who the hell told you that?”  


“I’m pretty sure the whole damn base knows, as I happened to overhear some of the girls giggle about it.” The captain shrugged and grinned. “So.. Ren, huh?”  
  
“He’s… Cute.” Hiro stated, more than obviously embarrassed by the fact someone had actually caught them in the act. Not that they intended to keep their relationship a secret or anything, and he knew his younger lover probably didn’t even care. Just the thought of somebody had either seen or heard them was to Hiro a bit disturbing.

 

“.. Cute? Alright, I’m just gonna say this as it is, so we have it straight.” The captain started, resting his shoulder against the wall of the elevator. “If that is your only reason for fucking the innocence out of that angel, I will cut your balls off.” 

 

Taken by surprise of the younger’s choice of words he starred at him. “Ei-chan!”

 

“I might just cut them off just for you insisting on calling me those names.”

 

Ignoring the last threat Hiro crossed his arms and shook his head. “Our relationship is new, that’s all. He IS more than just cute. I mean have you seen the way he handles a gun? You’d be a completely idiot to try to mess with that.”  
  
Eiki chuckled and nodded. “I know, he is very talented with a weapon in his hands. Hence why I made him a raider. Which reminds me, I wanna call to a meeting today with the raiders, and the vices of course. Michi should probably be there as well, and you.”  
  
“About what?” He asked as they left the elevator and started moving towards the infirmary.

 

“I’m gonna form a raid that will leave to the city tonight, with the purpose of figuring out what’s going on with the nightcrawlers. A bigger raid, since I want Michi to come along, so he can experience them for himself. The more knowledge we have, the better.”  
  
“Are you serious?”  
  
“Did it sound like a joke?”

 

The older sighed and looked up at the ceiling for a moment. “Michi haven’t been in the field since we arrived here. He’s too important to be out there. What if something happens?”  
  
“That’s why the raid is gonna be bigger. If something goes wrong, he will be the one to return. That much I can promise.”  
  
“We both know a promise like that is impossible.”  
  
“We also know we wouldn’t have gotten this far without taking risks. I’m sorry Hiro, but this is necessary. I know you haven’t been on the field since we arrived here either, but don’t grow too comfortable in the safety.”

 

The older looked at him with a slight offensive expression, but the young captain quickly brushed it off with anapologetic smile. “We are in the middle of a war, and we need to know what we are fighting, if we are to protect not only our raids up there, but also this base. That was all I meant.”  


Hiro shrugged still not fully into the idea of sending the researcher up there with the raid Eiki had in mind. “I know, I just.. It seems like a really, really big risk.”

 

“It’s always a risk going up there, for everybody.. But I know what you mean. That’s why I want the meeting. I need everybody’s opinion on this, so we’ll vote about it. It doesn’t feel right to make this decision myself.” The captain admitted, stopping in front of the door to the infirmary just to turn his eyes at him gently smiling. “Seen him yet?”

 

The older shook his head with a crooked smile and corrected his shirt, tugging it in his pants to prevent it from crawling up again. “Not yet, doc said you demanded him isolated, so she wouldn’t let me.” He corrected his hair quickly as well. He sort of rushed out of bed the moment he heard the captain leaving his room to accompany him, and in the rush just thrown everything on without much care, and he knew how the female doctor felt about obvious sloppiness.

 

“Good, the last thing that kid needs is a thousand hands all over him.” The grey-haired commented as he stepped into the infirmary, just to find the female already up making a bottle to the little size. “Morning Midory. Oh.. And Ren. And I just praised the fact you actually obeyed the isolation order.”

 

Hiro hurried in the room after him by the sound of his lovers name and rushed over to the table where the blonde was changing the baby’s diaper. “Ren?”

 

Ren smiled happily up at him and chuckled as Hiro made a disgusted face. “Good morning. Sorry, I just had to check on him..”  
  
Wawing a hand the tired doctor shaked the bottle. “The boy wouldn’t take no for an answer, besides, he has been a great help this morning, captain. He was also on the team that brought him here, so how could I refuse.”

 

Joined by Eiki at the changing table, Hiro looked towards the doc. “Did you give him a name yet?”  
  
She rubbed her eye under the glasses and sat down at a table, still shaking the bottle in her hand. “I’m a just a doctor, so I don’t really feel like I got the right to. That right belongs to the parents, not the doctor.”

 

“But he doesn’t have any. Guess he’s screwed then.”

 

“We should find him some.” The captain stated while watching Ren’s care of the boy, that the little one seem to more than enjoy, sending the young blonde all kinds of facial expressions that had the raider chuckle warmly. And Eiki couldn’t help but smile himself. A moment like that made it hard to believe something as horrible as the apocalypse had ripped the world apart the previous year.

 

Ren let the little one grab his finger, as he finished dressing him again. “That’s gonna be hard, as Youta said yesterday, no one wants the risks it is.. What if they die, or what if the base gets attacked and he gets killed, stuff like that. I don’t think many has any real hope for him. Not to mention the fact of him needing constant care, so that kinda rules a lot of people out as possible parents.”

 

Considering it, the captain nodded slowly. “It would have to be someone who doesn’t leave the base, and doesn’t have active jobs.. Which rules out vices, raiders, Midori and the nurses.. Our fighters as well.”  
  
“And the captain.” Hiro added sitting down next to Midori at the table.   
  
Eiki rolled his eyes. “Obviously, that’s a given. Fact is pretty much everybody is ruled out. Most can take care of him while they aren’t working, but they don’t have space for him once they have to work.”  
  
“He’s too small to be placed in the daycare.” The female yawned at placed the bottle on the table.

 

Hiro nodding to this sighed heavily. “Well maybe we should just name him Screwed then, seems fitting.”  
  
“You four are awfully depressing to listen too.” Ren muttered as he lifted the boy up in his arms. “You’re making this much more difficult than it needs to be.” He sat down at the table, joining the group and laid the infant in a better position on his arms, just to start feeding the little size with the prepared formula in the bottle.

 

“Is that so?” Eiki asked, once again watching the blonde amazed, as the handling of the boy seemed to lie natural within him. It was a strange sight, when you’re used to only see his talents handling weapons killing off creatures from hell.  
  
“That is so. I think we should call him Julian.” The blonde responded, keeping his focus on the little one and the bottle.

 

“We weren’t really discussing the name issue, Ren. The parent-issue is a lot bigger.” Hiro said with a short smile.

 

To that the blonde just shook his head and briefly look his lover straight in the eyes. “Oh, that’s not an issue. As you are the only one with a job here, that could actually allow you to babysit an infant at the same, I think it would be pretty obvious who the best daddy-candidate would be.”

 

“What?”  
  
Both the doctor and the captain ended up laughing strongly at the suggestion, though the grey-haired of the group quickly nodded. “Well that’s brutal honesty at it’s finest.”  


“Shut up!” The black-haired snorted annoyed, before looking back at his lover. “You can’t be serious. Look, he’s cute and all, but I have no damn clue about how to take care of a freaking baby-“ Stumbling through the words he stood up. “Plus, what if I don’t wanna be a dad, shouldn’t my opinion count here?”

 

Ren looked confused up at him and tilted his head. “You’ll learn how to take care of him fast, I’ll teach you of course? Not that it’s hard, he doesn’t really do much but sleep, eat and poop at this age..”  
  
“That’s not the point, Ren, dammit!”  
  
“I don’t understand why you’re getting so upset.” The captain added smiling warmly. “I think you’d do a great job. But of course your opinion matters, no one is gonna force you if you’re really against it. It is preferable if Julian is wanted by his new parents.”   
  
“I didn’t say I didn’t want him, that’s still not the point.” Hiro tensed up with a frustrated tone in his voice.  
  
Once again Ren looked deeply confused towards his lover, not understanding what about it got the other so worked up. “Well, make up your mind if you want him or not, once we agree to be his parents we won’t have the option to suddenly regret it.”  
  
“I’m sorry, we?”  
  
“Obviously, I did say I would help, didn’t I?”  
  
“.. That’s kinda a big step for.. Us. I mean. What if we suddenly regret.. Us?”  
  
“That could happen?” The blonde asked looking even more confused, as if the thought of that came completely unnatural to him. “I didn’t realize.. Really?”

 

Both the captain and the doctor just watched them silently, as the two lovers ended up in a confused starring contest. While Hiro’s feelings for the younger were anything but superficial, he smiled slightly at his oblivious questions. Which either meant, that it never crossed his mind that he might lose interest in the older at some point because he was still young. Or, he found the older stupid for thinking their relationship was that immature and irresponsible. Knowing the personality, Ren were, it was most certainly the second option.  And with a surrendering sigh he walked over to plant a soft kiss on the youngers forehead with a loving glance in his eyes. “You better teach me fast then. Ei-chan has plans for you.”  
  
“Good god, stop calling me that. How difficult is it to say my name properly.”  
  
The blonde blushed weakly, smiling happily in response to the older’s gesture. “Ei-chan always has plans for me. But I’m sure you’ll be a really great daddy, so I’m not worried. The two of you will be just fine.”  
  
“Eiki.. The name is Eiki. You guys aren’t listening, are you?”

 

Ignoring the captain’s complaints, the black-haired and the blonde fell into a little world of their own, as the blonde decided the older lover might as well finish the feeding of Julian, teaching him how to hold the infant and how to make sure the bottle was place so the boy wouldn’t end up swallowing air and the likes.

 

“Freaking newlyweds…”  The captain mumbled, as he got up, surprised to discover that Midori somehow had passed out on her chair from exhaustion. He smiled shortly and shook his head, as he walked towards the door. “Carry that poor woman to bed, Hiro. I’m gonna set the meeting up in one hour from now, in the conference room of course. And I expect the both of you to be there.” He looked back at them as he opened the door, and smiled slightly at the sight of them. They were a good match, he had no doubts about that, even if Ren was significantly younger than Hiro, who was closer to his 30’s. But it didn’t seem to matter in this case, as Ren was impressively mature for his age of 17. Often being the most mature of the two anyways. Saying nothing more, he left the couple with their baby and the sleeping doctor.   


* * *

 

 

 An hour later the captain shared his plan about the raid he wanted to form with the vices and raiders, Hiro and Michi of course, who didn’t seem fond of the idea at all. He didn’t disagree with the captain’s reason for his suggestion of him being in the raid though, the thought of going above ground after having been under it for so long was just unsettling. Rubbing his bald head, Youta observed Michi carefully. “And who did you imagine would be in this grand raid, captain?”  
  
“Well, the raid captains, you and I. I hoped we could decide the rest together, but first I want to take it to a vote whether we are doing this or not. This is not an order, I want your agreement to it. We can discuss who would be most suited for a raid like that after, if majority agrees this is the best way to handle the situation.” The captain looked around at the group with all seriousness in his eyes. “So shall we take it to a vote?”  
  
After individuals of the group nodding, the captain straightened his back and took a breath, before smiling calmly. “Alright. All in favor for the raid, raiser your hands, please.”

 

Eiki watched silently, as some individuals raised their hands pretty much immediately, Michi himself in this group, and others taking more time to consider the whole thing before raising theirs. Giving of a small nod as the majority showed their approval of the raid. “That settles it then.. Those of you who disapprove, are all free to go. I don’t want to force anyone to participate, so you may go now if you so wish.”   
  
“I’m surprised you support this, Michi. You don’t know to handle a weapon, and since the nightwalkers are changing, it’s gonna be worse being in field than the last time you were up there. Everything and anything can go wrong.” A firm voice stated, coming from one of the raid commanders that had disapproved of the plan, as some of the others looked towards the researcher awaiting his answer to this.

 

“It’s my job, Nobu-san.. And Eiki is right, my research of their transforms will be much more precise if I see them for myself, maybe even getting the chance to examine dead ones. I can’t put my own selfish fears in front of everyone’s safety. You do your job with pride.” He smiled warmly at the commander. “Let me do mine with pride too.”

 

Nobu listened to the man in silence, and then shrugged with a sigh. “I guess I’m in as well then. If the guy himself really wants to do this.”

 

As nobody made any gestures of leaving, the captain stood up with a confirming nod. “Well then. Then let’s decide who the rest of the raid will be. Any suggestions from the commanders?”

 

“Ren and Kiana from my group. Ren might be new on the field, but he’s the fastest silent killer we got, and I don’t trust explosives with anyone but Kiana.” Sora said without having to think too much about it.

 

“Hey, I’m pretty handy with explosives too!” Tom whined and gave his commander a light punch on the shoulder.

 

Not bothering to look back at his raider, Sora just tilted his head. “Tom tends to be noisy, so I’m gonna stick with Kiana.”  
  
“Rude.”  
  
“Yet true.” The commander brushed him off.

 

“Very well. Ren and Kiana from Sora’s team. What about you, Anna?” The grey-haired asked, turning his attention to the short-haired woman. She shrugged and shook her head.

 

“I’d rather not suggest any of them. I don’t think they are in the right place right now, to go on a new raid with the memory of Jim still being so.. Fresh. If you want my honest opinion. That’s why I didn’t vote in favor for the raid in the first place.”  
  
The captain didn’t answer her the first couple minutes, as he carefully observed her. Then he smiled gently at her as if he could read her mind and nodded. “You and your team stays home. I don’t think anyone here would blame you for needing time off to mourn him.”

 

Michi turned his look towards the female commander, surprised by the obvious sorrow in her eyes he didn’t notice before. He knew the raiders tended to form strong bonds with their teammates, but had still somehow in his own thoughts felt like no one really mourned the deceased friend as much as he did. But looking at her like that, it almost seemed like she maybe mourned him even more. Then it hit him that the woman not only probably have had a just as strong bond with him as he did, but also had been there to actually witness Jim’s very last moments. He said nothing though, he just starred at her in guilt for not acknowledging this sooner. She must have felt his eyes on her, because suddenly she met his eyes and smiled weakly. “It’s brave of you to go along with it though. He was your friend too, so it has to be difficult for you too to go out there so soon after.. But I know Jim would have wanted you to, so no more lives would end the way his did.. So in that matter, I do support it. Jim would have wanted it.” Her voice was soft, but he just felt it heartbreaking. Without really knowing how to answer her, he just nodded.

 

The room was silent for a moment, as they all respectfully took their time to remember their lost comrade.

 

Dave, the third raid commander was the one to break the silence. “Yuu, Evans and Lin from my team.”  
  
“I wanna go too, Dave.” A raider next to him quickly declared, as if the commander didn’t have a choice but to include him.

 

“Fine. Yuu, Evans, Lin and apparently John.” The commander gave in, with an approving nod from Eiki following.

 

“Good, good.. Juno, who from yours will be joining us?”

 

“Eh..” The youngest of the commanders said while considering. “I’m gonna go with.. The dealy duo, Frances and Kio.”

 

“Not fair, I wanna go too!” A high-pitched voice complained.

 

“Tough luck, you’re not going. Your girlfriend would kick my ass if I dragged you out there so soon after getting back home, and I ain’t willing to sacrifice my sweet bottom for that little. You aren’t worth **_that_** much.”

 

“Ass.”  
  
“Yes, I’m protecting it. I’m glad you understand my treasuring of it.”  
  
“That’s not what I meant, commander moron. Your ass isn’t even that great, seems pretty average to me.”  
  
The last comment having the whole room chuckling of amusement over the disagreement between the two. “I’d have to disagree with that.” Youta added with a straight face. “Juno’s bum is one of the finest bum’s I’ve seen in my lifetime.” He stated with the mentioned commander nodding to the compliment.

 

“Youta clearly knows what a nice ass looks like. You should learn from him, Alex.”  
  
The raider by the name Alex snorted and crossed his arms. “I think you need glasses, old man.” And the vice-captain just look at him and shrugged.

 

“You’re older than me, so maybe you’re the one who needs glasses. I’m amazed you even see the nightwalkers around you, when you can’t see that fine booty that I bet wiggles right in your face. But I guess that’s the tough life of a boobie-man.”

 

“Moving on-“ The captain interrupted having troubles keeping his laugh inside. “It’s France and Kio from Dave’s team, and who will we be accompanied by from yours, Eli?”  
  
“Pete and Sasha. Gonna add Celeste as well, since we might ending up needing her talents with a medical kit.” Eli answered the captain with a chuckle. The captain nodded with a smile and took the names to count.

 

“So that makes us.. A total of 16 men to keep Michi’s bum safe.” He turned his eyes towards the last commander. “Two people from yours, so we can make it 20, Layla?”

 

The female commander smiled warmly and nodded with a relaxed expression. “Sure. I’ll bring Max and Sheila. Sheila is pretty handy with a med kit as well.”

 

“Great, then that completes the raid. A team is already getting our rides ready to go, so your orders will be to be packed and ready to leave before dusk. Michi, you will be driving with Youta and I.. And let’s add Sora’s team to that. The rest of you figure out who you’ll be driving with yourselves, I couldn’t care less. Anyone else got something to add?” The captain asked as he looked around at them.

 

“Actually, yes.” Layla smiled as she lifted up a box from the floor and put it on the table, giving it a push towards the captain. “We picked up a gift for you yesterday, before heading back. We strongly advise you to use it.”  
  
The captain frowned as he looked at the box in front of him. “…” He glanced at the commander, but then opened the box, ending up frowning even more if possible of what it contained. “What the hell is this..”  
  
“Hair conditioner and brushes, captain.” Ren said answered confused by the captain’s words. “You use it to make hair all soft and such. And the brushes is for making your hair all pretty looking..?” The captain facepalmed while the rest exploded in laughter.

 

“I know what they’re used for, Ren…”

 

“Then I don’t understand how your hair ended up like that, Ei-chan..”  
  
Eiki turned his head, starring at the boy with a blank face. “Maybe I hoped a mommy-bird would see it as a sanctuary and lay her eggs in it..”  
  
“That’s silly, captain.”  


“Don’t crush my dreams like that, I really hoped that it’d happen if I just waited long enough.”  
  
The boy blinked and tilted his head, having their audience cramping together in laughter. “I am very sorry, captain.”

 

Eiki sighed and couldn’t help but smile over him, as he patted his head. “How you grew to be our very best nightwalker slayer is.. Completely beyond me, Ren.”  
  
Ren lit up in a bright smile and shrugged, clearly still thinking the captain was actually being serious. “It is very easy, captain. You taught me yourself, remember? Just aim and shoot. Very simple. I think you have been away from the battlefield for too long, if you already forgot.” He lifted up the box from the table and handed it to the captain with a sweet smile. “You should go use this before we go.”  
  
Giving up completely the captain just accepted the box and nodded, while the blonde’s older lover sighed as if he was floating around on a cloud. “How is he not the cutest freaking thing ever created.” He cooed and pulled the boy back to him just to hug him tightly, with the rest of the room still laughing their ass off, and the captain rubbing his forehead as he moved towards the door, calling the meeting to have officially ended.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ren is a clueless type apparently, but that's sweet. Right..?
> 
> Thanks for reading, comments/kudos always appreciated, and may the rest of your night/day be nice :3


	4. A Tangled Mess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for the cap to do something about that birdnest he calls hair. Mh-hm.
> 
> I do not have beta readers, I do not not read this through endless times before posting, english is not my first language either. So if there are any spelling mistakes or so.. Please just humor me and accept me for the piece of writer-garbage I am. And thanks the gods I do not do this for a living, ahahahahaha :'3

Not much time passes until the young captain found himself in the bathing area. Meant to house many people as the facility was, the area was quite big and at the moment not very crowded either.  Only a few members of the previous meeting were there to get ready for the settled trip ahead of them. Eiki had found himself a private corner away from them, where he now was getting ready behind the grey shower curtain. They had indeed come to love the place as their home, but it wasn’t exactly very home-ish at all. It felt cold to Eiki, no matter how he looked at it. He had his few selected people whom he considered family here, of course, and so had the other members of their base also build up relationships each of their own. They fought together. Survived together, sometimes even found love in one another. But it still just didn’t feel like home at all. The home he had come from, had held so many colors. On the carpet, the walls. Pictures everywhere of smiling family members. Always welcoming him home as a warm embrace every time he stepped in through the front door after a long day of school. But the base.. There were no colors here. No pictures. Nothing really familiar, except for the bed he called his own. Not even in his room did he have a picture from his former life. It wasn’t that he came from an overly happy family, in fact he probably never appreciated them as much as he should have when they were still alive. But now, having lost every single bit of it, he missed it all. He didn’t really mourn it, nor did he ever share it with anyone. It was what it was, something in the past that he wouldn’t be able to get back. All he could do was keep fighting and moving forward. He had never even given himself time to cry about it, and didn’t know if that was something odd. From the moment the apocalypse started and hell rained down on humanity, all he had ever been concerned about was moving forward. He weren’t home at that time, when it happened. So he didn’t even really know if any of his family members made it out alive or not, but he honestly doubted it. They hadn’t explored his home area of the town. Area 45 as they now called it, after dividing the city into areas and naming them numbers to make it easier. Area 45 weren’t the only area still left unexplored, but the captain couldn’t deny avoiding that area on purpose if you straight out asked him. But of course no one ever did, as they didn’t know his relations to the area. Thank god.

 

He removed the hairband and slipped it down around his wrist before pushing the button on the wall for the water to start running. He gave a small whimper from him as the water hit him rather cold before turning somewhat warm. Trying his best to get his bangs away from his eyes, he fumbled the other hand around for the shampoo on the floor and flipped the cap off bottle with his thumb. Now that he thought of it, he couldn’t really remember when he last bothered to properly clean his hair. It seemed rather pointless at most times to put any real care into it, as it would quickly get all dirty and annoying again after entering the battlefield. And it wasn’t exactly because he was out to seduce anybody, as he was more than enough busy keeping control over every little thing as the captain. He’s former self had cared greatly about every little detail of his looks, but he had changed much these past months, just like so many else. Looking at the huge amount of hair the running slowly got untangled he sighed heavily, and finally just turned the bottle bottom up over his head and gave it a firm squish. Making an unamused face by the feeling of the slimy soap running, he put the bottle back down on the floor and started massaging the soap into his hair and away from his face. He closed his eyes for a bit while his thoughts started to wander off. Started off as thoughts about the new mission, then they turned into wonders about the abandoned infant. Just to end in thoughts about the comrade they also just had lost. Jim. It wasn’t like he was ever close to the guy in a personal way, but he did feel highly responsible for each and every person his group included. And even more so, he couldn’t help but feel entirely responsible especially for the raiders and fighters, the ones who were most likely to go above ground on his commands. Even though he knew he couldn’t be held responsible for anything that happened to them while being up there, which is why he hated it even more when he wasn’t up there with them himself. At least if by their side up there, he could have done something to help them, to make sure they made it back safely. Or so he’d like to tell himself at least. He shook his head to force himself out of the thoughts and messed with the hair to get the soap out, before he drowned it in the conditioner the raiders so kindly had provided him with. It did feels nice, he admitted, as he started to filter out the hair knots that had formed over the time he hadn’t cared for it at all with his fingers. Barely smiling he quite enjoyed being able to run his fingers through his hair again after some time of working on the knots. Alright, so it had actually grown an awful lot, but the thought of letting anyone near it with a scissor in their hands made his stomach turn. He looked down behind him after giggling to his own surprise by the feeling of something tickling his behind, first thinking it might have been a surprise spider, but quickly turned his head as a voice sounded from the shower stall next to his. “What’s going on in there that’s making you sound that girly Cap?”

 

Eiki blinked and tilted his head shortly. “Sora.. Didn’t even hear you being here..”

 

The commander chuckled and the captain could hear the sound of bottles being messed around with. “Just got in. So what is making you giggle? Sounded rather cute.”

 

“Oh, was just my hair tickling my butt.” He answered him not reacting further to the man’s comments. “Didn’t known it had actually gotten that long.”

 

Now a warm laughter sounded from the other stall. “Well how could you with the mess you’ve left it in for months.  I wanna see.”

 

Quickly the younger threw his not empty bottle of conditioner over the wall at the other. “You just stay put where you are, mister. There’s absolutely nothing for you to see on this side of the wall.”

 

Avoiding the flying bottle the man just laughed even louder. “Aw, well that’s rather hard to believe. You shouldn’t think so little of yourself captain, you’re fairly attractive for a guy.”

 

Frowning the captain quickly grabbed his towel and wrapped it around himself before leaving the stall. “Fairly.. You sure know how to make one feel special. No wonder you’re single, urgh.”

 

“I’m single because I choose to. I can be very charming, I’ll have you know.” He simply replied as he too finished up his shower. “Besides, don’t speak too loudly, it’s not like you have a special someone yourself. Though I thought there was something between you and Youta.”

 

Eiki raised a brow and turned to look it the man as he too left his stall. “What in earth made you think that? We’re not that close. He’s just.. Comforting to be around, I guess.”

 

“Dunno, just appeared so for a while. Right until you guys had that weird fight that is, and you called him.. Sour grandad onion, was it?”

 

“Not my finest moment.. That was a stupid fight, doesn’t even make sense now I think back on it.”  
  
“It happens.” The commander grabbed some of the youngers hair and studied it for a bit. “Want me to help dry it? Gonna take take forever doing it by yourself, and you shouldn’t leave with it still wet.”

 

Slightly tilting his head the captain just nodded after a moment of considering. “Sure.. If you really don’t mind wasting time on that.”

 

“Really? Considering how you won’t let a former hairdresser near it, you’re surprising me by agreeing to it Cap.”  
  
The greyhaired just shrugged and started to get himself dressed in his usual combat outfit, which was pair of tighter shorts, a fishnet shirt and a looser green t-shirt over that, just as worn out as the rest of the clothes he owned. “His hair-fetish is creepy, and he’s bald. You really think I’d trust my hair with that. Nuh-uh.”

 

Once again the commander gave off a warm laughter as he also got dressed, in a more military look. “Well I’m greatly honored. Didn’t know you trusted me that much.”

 

“Fail this task and hell well go loose on you.”

 

“Sorry, you don’t scare me.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“You sound disappointed. Do you want me to fear you?”

 

To this the captain just sighed and started to move towards the exit. “No, it’s easier to fuck people up badly if they trust you.”

 

“Nothing sounds scary coming from your mouth, not even that.” He smiled following the greyhaired out and towards the man’s room. “I forgot to thank you, by the way.”

 

“For what? I don’t remember doing you any personal favors.”

 

He shrugged keeping his eyes on the shorter. “For not panicking over Julian. Ren wouldn’t hear a no when we found him. I was sure you wouldn’t be pleased.”

 

“Why? He’s a baby. It’s pretty limited what he could do to us.”

 

“Maybe, but there could have been all sorts of things wrong with that boy.”

 

“Luckily there isn’t. And now he has two dads to care for him as well. If any problems do come up with him, we’ll handle it then. Like we always do.” Eiki simply responded along with sending the man a gentle smile. “I’d say we’ve handled worse than an infant, wouldn’t you?”  
  
Sora smirked and nodded to this. “We have, indeed. Youta still pissed about it?”  
  
“Ah, he’ll come around.  He did admit to have overreacted, so I wouldn’t worry so much about him.” The younger male opened the door to his room and the two of them stepped in. Normally he didn’t allow others in the room really, it was his sanctuary. Unless of course he had told his personal alarm clock, Hiro, to wake him up if he was napping. But other than that he treasured his privacy in this room, which everybody on the base were perfectly aware of and respected.  So it was really no wonder that Sora couldn’t help but feel a bit awkward about being in the room.

 

Rubbing his neck he watched the captain take place on the chair at the desk after finding the blow-dryer and the hairbrush the box from the raiders also had contained. “So.. Captain’s cave, eh? I really dig your style for decorating your home.”   
  
The greyhaired shook his head and handed him the blow-dryer. “I don’t see the point in decorating. I have more important matters that demands my attention, than what is on my walls. I come here to think and sleep, Sora. And it satisfies those needs just fine as it is.”  
  
Sora gave a small smile off to that and stepped behind him, making sure none of the younger’s hair was stuck between the chair and his back, before he started on drying it. “Still. There’s nothing wrong with making it feel a bit more like.. Home? I suppose. You know..”

 

“This is not my home. I lost my home like everybody else. I have no intention of trying to replace that, as it wouldn’t make me feel better in any way.” The younger muttered while closing his eyes.

 

Being very careful the older male decided just to use his fingers to brush though the long grey hair, before attempting to use the actual brush as he decided it might be a bit too rough on the hair when it hadn’t been properly tended to for so long. “I’m not talking about replacing what you lost, Cap. Just.. Making it feel like you really belong here, or something like that? I’d bring you anything you’d wish for having here, you know that. You just need to give the order.”  
  
“I do belong here.” He softly said while letting his head fall a bit back so he could look up at him. “I fought for my life to be here, at your side while you were fighting as well. And I’ll keep doing that till my time is up, which I hope won’t be anytime soon.”

 

The darkhaired poked his forehead and chuckled. “So basically you consider the battlefield your new home. Alright, I get it. Now stop moving, I’m gonna end up burning you if you don’t sit still.”  
  
“I’m not a soldier really, I just do what I have to in order for us to survive, so I wouldn’t say that.” He stated as he looked to a point in front of him again, sitting perfectly still as commanded. “As I said, I don’t have a home. Doesn’t mean I don’t belong here, and that’s all there is to it.”  
  
“Alright, alright.” Sora just sighed and massaged his fingertips against the other’s scalp to making sure it was properly dried. “You got some pretty cool curls going on here. Didn’t know you possessed such nice hair.”  
  
“Well thank you.” The grey haired almost purred enjoying the touch from the other. Touches like that were more than rare for him to receive, and he was human after all, so how could he not. Even if he wouldn’t openly admit it. “What were you before, Sora?”  
  
“What do you mean?” He couldn’t help but smile a bit over the purring tone in the youngers voice, but didn’t react further to it. “Like what job I had?”  
  
“Sure. I’m just curious about who you were before I placed a weapon in your hands. Just realized I never asked about that before..”  
  
“Erh.. I was nothing impressive really. Just a mechanic. Family business, took over my father’s workshop after he died.”  
  
“Oh.. I see. That explains your talents with fixing cars. No wife? Kids?”

 

“Ahahaha, no uhm.. Nothing of that sort. Never got around to it. I was too busy taking care of my little brother and the shop.”  
  
Another purr sounded from the captain as he closed his eyes, not even paying attention to his own reactions to the touches. “Mmh-hm, I see.. How old was it you were again? I believe we celebrated your birthday not long ago, didn’t we?”

 

“.. I turned 31 a couple of months ago, that’s right. You sure are curious today Cap.” He chuckled and grabbed the brush that was lying ready on the desk. “We’re almost done.”

 

“Shut me up if my questions bother you, I’m not ordering you to answer them. I just felt like getting to know you, that’s all.”  
  
“I don’t mind. But then tell me something about you too, so this getting to know thing isn’t all one-sided.”

 

“What do you wanna know?”

 

“Anything. Who were you before you became our captain?”

 

“Hm..” Eiki considered it for a bit and then shrugged, letting out a disappointed sound from the massaging stopping, but quickly regained the relaxing and enjoying sounds as he felt the hairbrush run through his hair. “No one.”  


“Eh? Seriously?”

 

“What? I’m not sure how to answer that at all. I was a student, sort of.. I mean I studied, but not for anything specific. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life or what goals I should set for myself, you know, I thought I had all the time in the world to make that decision. So I’m not really sure who I was back then.”

 

Sora nodded slowly to himself while concentrating on a stubborn tangle. “Yeah well.. Ain’t like it would have mattered anyways. I guess it’s a good thing, at least you’re not crying over not getting the things you wanted. Did you have a sweetheart yourself then?”

 

To this the young one chuckled heartedly. “No, not exactly. It wasn’t my thing. Girls were just fun to hang out with, and the boys.. Well.. They were just really fun to mess with. I was pretty careless back then, I suppose.”

 

“Weird. I imagined you as one of those people who met their soulmates in a young age and all that.”

 

“What in earth about me drove you to that picture?”

 

“Erh.. Your.. Maturity I suppose? I don’t know. You just seem mentally too old to be one to simply screw around for the fun of it.”

“Please, I didn’t screw around. I just messed with a bunch of heads, that’s all. Got my virginity still perfectly intact.”  
  
Dumbfounded the older almost dropped the brush as the new information so bluntly got smacked in his face. “Good freaking heavens!”

 

“What? Oh, but thanks for the strange compliment I guess. But no, no soulmate. But I guess I’m kinda glad I never got to that point though. Carelessness isn’t something you can afford being anymore.”

 

“You still seem pretty careless to me, cap..” The older male just mumbled to himself while continuing to brush the younger’s hair.

 

“What was that? It’s hard to hear you back there.”

 

“Nothing, uhm.. So.. What about your family?”

 

“What do you mean?” Eiki hummed with a slight smile while removing the hairband from his wrist and holding it up for the other to take.

 

“Well do you.. You know.. Know what happened when.. Erh, I mean-“

 

“No.” The captain cut him off. “I wasn’t home. So I did what I needed to do to survive which was hiding till things calmed down. A coward’s move I suppose, but I sort of figured I wouldn’t be of any help to them anyways if I ended up getting myself killed in my attempt to reach them in that chaos.”

 

“… I know. I’m not judging you. Don’t be offended, I wasn’t trying to, uhm..” The older sighed with a troubled tone, grapping the hairband.

 

The captain then flipped his head back a bit and just smiled gently at him. “Relax. Even if you were, I wouldn’t mind. It’s not like I can change my actions anyways. I loved my family, but I don’t regret doing what I did..”

 

“And why is that?” He shortly smiled back, before making the younger sit properly again with a gentle push.

 

Eiki thought about it for a few second to find the right words, before shrugging slightly. “A couple of days later, when I left my hiding spot, I did start to make my way back home.. But then I ran into Hiro and the ones he was with and they were in trouble. I helped them escape.. I don’t really remember much of it anymore. But instead of going home, I ended up with sticking with them. We found a safe place the roof of a shop, but had to move to a bigger location as we found more survivors..”

 

“So.. You forgot about them, or what?” Sora frowned as he started on forming the ponytail, which suddenly became a bit more difficult with the captains hair no longer being a total tangled mess, leaving the newfound length and curls making it quite the challenge to get the ponytail right.

 

“No, no. God no, I haven’t ever stopped thinking about them. Just how coldhearted do you think I am?” The greyhaired chuckled, but clearly with a tone of sorrow hidden in the amusement. “It’s just.. We were close to the area for about a month, if not a little more before we started the move. And we searched for more survivors the whole time. My mom was a bright woman.. So I’m sure we would have met them while being there, if they did survive. Even if they had been safe at our house somehow, I’m also sure she would have been out searching for me at anytime she could, so..”

“Oh… Like that. That makes sense I guess.” Sora replied, even though he got the feeling there was more to the story that the other didn’t seem to share. But he couldn’t really blame him for wanting to hold some information back, as they barely knew each other, and the captain sure did seem like the type that treasured the privacy of keeping some secrets hidden away from the world. It wasn’t place for him to stick his nose in. Not yet anyway.

 

“Mh-hm..”

 

“Don’t give up hope though.” The commander decided to add.

 

The captain made another movement to look up at the older, but quickly got put back in his place by a pull at the hair. “Haaaah-!”

 

“Seriosuly, sit still, I almost had it.” The older just smirked at the youngers whimpering. “Beauty hurts. Now, don’t move and let me finish this masterpiece.”

 

“So mean..” The captain pouted. “Fine. But hurry, it’s almost time for us to leave you know. You sure do take your sweet time with this.”

 

“Just making sure it’s done properly. Besides, you were basically purring by the treatment a minute ago, so don’t go complaining on me now.”

 

“Guess who gets all the toilet chores for a month when we return.”

 

“Hm.. Nope, still not scary.”

 

“Remind me again why I’m putting up with you.”

 

“Cause your world would crumble without me. Obvoiusly. Alright, hold on, almost there..” The older said right as he tightened the hairband around the grey ponytail. “There. Perfect and all ready to get destroyed by the joys of nightwalker killings.”

 

“Finally!” The captain cheered quickly jumping up from the chair and swinging the ponytail lightly around. “Oh, actually feels a whole lot lighter. Good job, Sora, thank you.” He looked back at the man and with a warm smile. “Feels much better. But yeah, I might just need your help again when we get back home, if you’re up for it.”

 

The older pushed the chair back to the desk with an amused laugh and nodded. “Sure, if you’re willing to trust me with it again. Shall we go then?”

 

“Yes, I think we should. Sorry for taking up the little free time you had before the leave though.”

 

“Nah, it was my pleasure. And I got to know stuff about you, so totally worth it.”

 

“If you say so, then alright.” The captain shrugged as he opened the door for the older, and the two of them headed off to level A.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, kudos, suggestions, anything really is all appreciated
> 
> And most of all, thank you for wasting time on this thing I don't even know what is yet :3


	5. I don't get these people..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this chapter is just a piece of trash nobody asked for.. I want some action to happen ò____ó

The large convoy had made their stop about a kilometer from the beginning of the city, as the sun was about to set. He wasn’t exactly sure how, but somehow the young scientist had managed to fall asleep after all, and not even the noises of the raiders moving around outside the van getting all geared up seem to wake him. It wasn’t until the young captain woke him by poking to the sleeping man with the end of his scythe that is. “Michi. Come on now, it’s time to get out of that beauty-sleep and get to work. We don’t have all night you know.” The younger said with a blank face as Michi looked up at him with still heavy eyes.

 

“What?” He asked and rubbed his eyes, as he for a second somehow forgot where they were.

 

“I said, get up. We’re going by foot for the rest of the way. I don’t want the cars to attract too much attention by being all noisy, you know.”

 

“Oh! Of course, the nightwalkers, the mission.. Urgh, I’ll be right there, just let me grab my stuff.”

 

“2 minutes, Michi, then we’re going.” The captain said with a short nod, before he turned and walked towards the one of the cars in the center of the parked group, and jumped up on the roof of it. “Listen up guys!” Quickly the group fell silent by the captains words and turned their eyes on him. Well, except for the ever so noisy group that belonged to Dave’s usual team, that still discussed which weapons to bring with them. “For crying out loud..” The captain muttered. “John, I do realize that it is Dave’s responsibility to keep his team in line, but would you mind making them shut the hell up?” He then yelled towards the only member of the named team that seemed to pay any damn attention. The silent man frowned upon this demand, but sighed with a nod and a quick smack in the back of his commander’s head. In the same second Dave quickly looked at him “What the hell-!” But John simply looked more than annoyed at him while pointing at the captain, who had planted his hands on his hips as he got more and more impatient, tapping his foot against the roof of the car with just as much annoyance written on his face as John’s. Which made the commander nervously rub his neck. “Sorry, cap.. I’m all ears!”

 

“I sure as hell hope so.” The captain growled. Taking a breath he let the end of his scythe rest against the roof of the car, before looking around on the raiders with nothing but determination burning in his black eyes. “You know why we’re here. I don’t need to tell you, that we aren’t here to avoid the enemy as good as possible this time. That we are here to face them head on, to force them to show us exactly what it is they are becoming. However-“ He took a pause just to shift his gaze at them to a hard look. The kind of look that would warn even strangers that just met him NOT to fuck around with him. And that one simply couldn’t help but obey. As much as the captain for the most time gave off a really harmless vibe, and his looks would leave you to think that he couldn’t hurt a fly even if he tried, this rare look of his would prove you wrong on any innocent pictures you could have of him in a heartbeat. This little figure of his would kill off that fly long before it realized it already died. “We are NOT here to commit mass suicide! We want to seek out and face them, but I don’t want anyone trying to be heroes and attracting more than we can handle, and God have mercy on the idiot who plays the sacrifice-card cause I sure as hell won’t. I know you’re used to work in small teams, but right now the whole damn raid is your team, so work together. No one wanders off on their own, no one plays bait, and no falling behind.” He shortly turned his eyes towards Youta and Michi who joined him on the car’s roof, but quickly looked towards the raiders again, swinging the scythe in front of Michi as if he was protecting him from the nightwalkers already. “This is gonna get dangerous very fast, so be on alert and don’t let anything surprise you. I want this guy under constant protection, surrounded by raiders at all times, understood? He needs to see everything we can make the nightwalkers show us, but if I see him exposed without any shields fighting off any danger he might come too close to, I will personally have some fun times with the raiders closest to him the second we get back to the base!”

 

“Yes, captain!” It sounded unanimously from the raid, leaving the tense scientist laughing as he nervously stared at the scythe-blade in front of him. “I’m sure it’s gonna be just fine, ahaha..”

 

The captain raised a brow, but then smirked placing a hand on his hip. “Well of course.” He looked around at the raiders again, this time with nothing but pride shining through the black eyes, that just a moment ago seemed like they were ready to kill anyone who fucked up the slightest. “Of course it is. Cause I know for a fact that each and every single one of you are the finest fighters I could possibly trust this mission with, and I am not afraid of meeting this new threat with you by my side. But fact is we ARE facing something entirely new. Until now all we have done has been for survival. But truth is, we’re at war. And we need to win. And we can’t do that if we don’t know what we’re fighting, so-“ He turned his eyes towards Youta who just smiled at him with a nod, before he lifted his scythe above his head with a grin. “Are you ready to go make some nightwalkers dance?!”

 

The pumped up raiders quickly answered him by lifting their weapons in the air with loud roar, and the captain practically danced around on the car to answer their excitement, while the scientist looked up at the vice pouting. “How in earth can you guys be so damn excited about this? We might as well all be dead by dawn.”

 

Youta cuckled while giving the scientist a pat on the back. “We’d sure to be doomed if we walk in there with death written all over our faces, Michi. It’s important to know the seriousness every mission holds, and to realize the dangers. But it’s even more important to be confident and trust your teammates to act with same confidence.”

 

Michi jumped closer to the vice as the captain jumped down to join the raiders as they went back to preparing the last loose ends before leaving, the crowd now being more noise with Eiki running around shouting commands around, and the commanders doing the same. “You seriously got pumped up by that speech? It just sounded like a massive bunch of threats to me.. Mixed with some attempts to scare the shit out of you..”

 

“Hm? Ah.. Well, as a captain you gotta keep the troops in place. What sounded like threats to you, was merely Eiki letting his troops know that shit is about to hit the fan, and that he expect nothing less than the best he knows they can deliver.” He placed a hand on the younger’s shoulder with a nod. “It might seem odd to someone who don’t usually take any part in the war. Don’t think too much of it, Michi. Just focus on your own mission here, and let us deal with ours. He made them aware that they needed to look out for you, but you also need to do your best to stick with us. In the heat of the moment we might not be able to fully see you while fighting them. So make sure to consider all of us your shields. If it gets too intense around Eiki and I, as an example, you make sure to run to the nearest raiders that can better shield you yourself, and don’t do anything but observe everything that happens. Let everything else up to the rest of us, even if you see anyone hurt.”

 

At this the scientist looked at him with a displeased expression. “What? I can’t just stand there and do nothing if somebody get seriously wounded, Youta-“

 

But the vice cut him of with nothing but a stare. “We have medics for those cases, and we trust their capability to both fight their way to any wounded and treat them on the spot when they’re able to do so, just as they trust the fighters to help them make their way to any wounded as quickly as possible.”

 

“…” Then the younger nodded slowly and sighed. “Be confident, and trust you team to act with same confidence, was it?

 

The vice chuckled warmly and jumped down from the car, helping the younger down as well. “Exactly, you’re getting it. We all have our roles in the raid. Focus on yours, and be confident in other focusing on theirs. Much like a game, if you ever played one of those MMO’s.. Or whatever they were called. You know, one of those where you played with a ton of other people online?”

 

“Huh? You’re seriously comparing this to a game..?” The scientist looked around him studying the different faces as they geared up, or packed food, or whatever that was left to be done. “How? No offense, but I don’t see how this is anything remotely close to be similar.”

 

“Well..” Youta thought for a second, before pointing towards a small group that seemed to be busy discussing their tactics. “John, Layla, Kio and Sasha would be the ones you’d consider tanks I believe. They’re the first you’ll see jumping towards any attackers, attracting them to the spot we want them and they’re good at keeping the nightwalkers busy so we’re free to attack them. Basically making sure we’re in control of the fight.” Then he pointed towards the two girls who looked more than busy making sure their medical kits were up to the approaching challenge. “Celeste and Sheila would be your healers.”

The scientist frowned at the older’s explanation, but nodded slowly to the words. “That.. Sort of makes sense, I guess?”

 

Youta smiled shortly and turned his look towards Eiki and Ren who were also busy in conversation with a group of the raiders. “I shouldn’t have to mention what group Eiki, Ren and Frances belongs to. With the highest kill-rate on their shoulders, those would be the damage dealers. They don’t look like much, but they’re fast, and they hit with a strength you can’t deny once you see it for yourself. But for them to truly be effective in battle, they have to be able to move freely. That’s where our tank-like monsters over there are handy. As long as they’re keeping the nightwalkers attention, they won’t even see the damage coming from the other sides.”

 

“Ooooh, I get it now!” The scientist exclaimed actually writing it all down in his notebook. “And people Kiana could be considered supports or ranged damage. Able to fight near combat, but Kiana most effective on her ranged attacks with her bombs. And Sora doing near combat, but being the one to make sure Sheila or Celeste gets to the wounded. Right?”

 

“Something like that I guess.” The older laughed amused as he went closer to the captain. “Except this is reality. Don’t forget that.”

 

 “I didn’t take you for someone who played games though.”

 

“I didn’t, my nephew did. He was very much into that sort of thing, and I just picked up on it a little when he talked about it. Which he could do for hours.”

 

“Ah, I see.. Hm..” Was the younger’s only reply as he looked up from his notes paying closer attention to the different raiders choice of weapons. Looking towards the group Youta has pointed out as resembling tanks, he noticed that neither of them carried any weapons that did any real damage, and their choice of clothing barely did anything to keep them protected from being bitten. As if they literally were inviting the nightwalkers to come and have a taste. Then it hit him, that of course they would be doing exactly that. In a game the tank would be the one to take on the most damage, but that obviously wouldn’t work in real life. While these tanking raiders indeed were more pumped when it came to muscles, their defense remained the same as any other person. He tensed up again a bit as he started writing his thoughts on it down again.

 

_They appear to be strong enough to push them off, but seems to work as big teases for the nightwalkers. I suppose that’s why they also all seem to have one specific partner they trust to do the killing for them._

He looked towards the raiders that got pointed out as DD’s and tilted his head a bit as they joined their partners. The pairs did indeed seem to be close friends. It was actually quite easy to tell just by the looks they shared with between them. “Hn..”

 

_Evans seems a bit uncertain. Not scared, but something does feel a bit off about him. I wonder if that was the reason why John insisted on joining. Dave didn’t really object to John’s demands either. Kio and Frances on the other hand almost seem too relaxed about it. Looking at those two, I’m honestly happy I’m not on the enemy side.. Max and Layla look as close and content with each other as ever. Do they have a tank on Ren’s usual team?_

He lifted his eyes from the notebook again and turned them towards Ren and Eiki who now stood together in silence. He frowned a bit over the scene that took place between the two. They simply stood there in front of each other, hands on their hips and eyes locked together in a stare he couldn’t quite figure out, and with expressions on their faces he honestly couldn’t read. “… Youta?” He mumbled as the man passed him by again.

 

“Yes?” The older responded closing up his backpack. “Something wrong, Michi?”

 

The scientist looked at him with a lost expression and pointed towards the captain and Ren. “You tell me. What are they doing?”

 

“Oh, they’re focusing.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Erh.. It’s hard to explain..” He sighed and rubbed his neck. “I bet you’ve noticed the other teams seem to have pairs that are especially close, right?”

 

“Yes, I did. It’s quite fascinating, I never noticed any of it before you mentioned how the teams really works.. But what does that have to do with that staring contest over there?”

 

“Well, neither of them have a partnership like that as the others have.”

 

“… I’m sorry, you lost me.”

 

“Alright, going back to the game explanations, uhm.. Most tanks in the raids have special DD they trust and work with, since trust is quite a big factor for a tank. They’re still humanly squishy as fuck, so putting your life in the hands of someone else demands huge amounts of trust, right?”

 

“Yeah, I got that so far.”

 

“Alright. Eiki and Ren doesn’t have any tanks. They mostly go solo, so to speak, as they’re both equally effective without having to depend on tanks when none are to be found, which is the case with Ren. We haven’t found anyone he’s compatible with.  But when they're on the same team as they are now, their fighting style takes a bit of a change. Try to compare them with the other tanks and DD’s.”

 

“Eh?” The younger blinked and did as told. At first he couldn’t tell what it was the older wanted him to notice, nothing about them seemed that different from the DD’s, and they really didn’t look anything like the tanks at all. They were both small with slender bodies, that just had enough muscles on them to work with their weapons. Which they had plenty of by the way. Pistols, granates, multiply knifes in different sizes and of course their personal main weapons. Eiki with his scythe, and Ren had his katanas. Now that he payed attention to their weapon-taste, he also noticed that Ren seemed to have a liking for twin weapons, as he carried two of everything. But he really saw nothing that could relate them to the tanks. “I don’t get it, Youta.”

 

The man just chuckled and planted his hand on the younger’s head. “Pay attention now.” Then he started turning the scientist head from Eiki and Ren, to the tanks, and back to Eiki and Ren again. And he kept doing so till the younger finally saw the light. “Their clothes!”

 

Youta nodded and looked at him with a big grin. “Exactly. Their style don’t match the other DD’s.”

 

“No, I see it, they match the tank’s style! But why though?”

 

“Aren’t you supposed to be the smart one?”

 

“Uhm…”

 

“Well?”

 

Michi curled his lips a bit in annoyance and looked towards the starring contest that was still happening again. “… Oh. They’re each other’s tank?”

 

“Sort of, I suppose. They share the job as tank and DD. So what they’re doing right now, is their way of.. Connecting to each other. It’s quite difficult to both really understand and explain. Though plenty of our other DD’s have tried copying this style, as we sometimes need them to be able to work with other people than their tanks. But so far none have managed to make it as stable and useable as Eiki and Ren. But them working together has it flaws.”

 

“Why is that?”

 

“You’ll see it for yourself soon enough.”

 

“Hn.. I suppose. But I’m supposed to study the nightwalkers, not the tankless DD’s..”

 

To this the older just laughed and waved him off. “Then how about you save the curiosity for another time? We’re about to go anyways, you’ll have plenty of time to study them further once we’re back at the base. For now you should focus on the actual job you’re here to do.”

 

“Urgh, fine.. You can’t blame me for being fascinated. I wished I had payed closer attention to all of this sooner.” He jumped as a firm voice suddenly startled him, and quickly look towards it’s owner.

 

“Alright, let’s get this raid moving! Our target location is the mall closest to the main road. Sora said the place were started to host too many of them, so let’s take this opportunity to clean the place properly. I’ll send the raiders at home to fetch everything useful from it once we’re done.” Eiki stated as he and Ren and started moving.

 

Grabbed by Youta, Michi quickly ended up behind Eiki and Ren as the raid started moving towards their goal. He looked behind him for a moment, just to be met by the faces of Youta and Sora, but his eyes turned as soon as Kiana and Nobu walked up to each of his sides. He really was covered from all sides. He couldn’t say he liked the sudden silence that fell over the large group, as the only noise being heard from them were their footsteps. But even those weren’t remotely close to be considered loud.

 

But with the new realizations about the raids members, he weren’t as anxious anymore. Yes, it would still be far from safe, but at least everything seemed less.. Random, to him. Which oddly enough put him more at ease. As if the illusion of being in control had ever helped humanity.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos, suggestions, ideas, anything is appreciated!
> 
> Thank you for reading my garbage, that's so kind :'3


	6. Chapter 6

And that was how the little scientist ended up completely cramped in the middle of Eiki, Youta, Sora and Nobu, hiding behind some bushes while Ren was scouting the area that surrounded the mall for potential danger. Needless to say he weren’t feeling all too content, but he did his best to swallow his concerns. As Youta had said, he did pretty much have a whole damn army so he should be fine as long as he didn’t go in their way. Right?

 

“So how does it look?” It sounded from Eiki the moment the blonde returned.

 

“Not too bad.. There’s only about 15 of them wandering about outside. But that’s not good news if this place is supposed to be drowning in them.” Ren answered with a sigh.

 

“Dammit..”

 

“Why is that bad news, captain? I mean.. 15 of them should be easy enough to deal with?”

 

“It means the rest of them is probably inside, which means something attracted them in there. There was a lot more than 15 the last time we attempted raiding this place.” It wasn’t Eiki, but Nobu who answered with an annoyed look on his face.

 

“Couldn’t they just have.. left?”

 

“If this place was swamped by them before, it would make more sense that something lured them all here in the first place, Michi.. Unless nightwalkers suddenly got an urge for shopping, but I highly doubt that.” This time it was the captain who answered, clearly consumes by his thoughts. “Problem is to figure out our move.”

 

Kiana shrugged considering the situation as well. “I’d like to say we just need a big-ass boom to lure them all out here instead, but that might just attract even more than the ones inside. Since we don’t know how many is in there, it’ll be risky.”

 

Eiki nodded. “We can’t risk drowning in them ourselfs right now. You’re right.. But going in there makes our battlefield a lot smaller as well. Which excludes a lot of our heavier weapons.”

 

“That’s fine. We got our guns and DD’s, so we should be able to handle that, even if gonna get a little messy.” Youta concluded.”

 

“DD’s?”

 

“Erh.. I was explaining the dynamics of the raid to Michi earlier..”

 

This made the young captain blink with a small giggle. “That’s awesome, I like it.”

 

“Can’t we just find another place if this Is gonna be too.. Difficult?” Michi asked uncertain,  which only made Nobu snort. “You make it sound like dealing with nightwalkers usually is a piece of cake.”

 

“That’s not what I meant, Nobu. I just-“

 

“Absolutely not.” The captain cut them off. “We’re going in, and we are clearing that mall. There’s no way we can turn our backs at this place without knowing.” He stated while rubbing his necks. “It just.. Changes our tactics a little..”

 

“Without knowing what?” Michi demanded, as he at least wanted to know why they were so eager to jump into something that seemed a lot more dangerous than the plan they first had.

“If there are people inside that needs help, Michi, now quiet. You’re here to observe.” Youta replied him briefly, before turning his attention towards the captain. “So what do we do? I agree to much noise would be a dangerous move, when we don’t know what number we’re up against.”

 

“Hn.. I’m not sure. Taking the battle in there could also be risky. But I don’t think we have any choice, and we have to act fast if there really are survivors in there. But running in there altogether won’t do. They’re probably spread all over the place, so we need to do the same. Or attract them to the same spot.. But first we need to get rid of those outside, and quickly, so the others won’t get alarmed.” The captain mumbled thoughtful. They all fell silent for a few seconds, before the captain sighed. “I’m sorry, Michi, but it can’t be helped. I want you to stay with Youta at all times. We won’t be able to protect you as I originally planned. We’ll try, but there’s no knowing how this will go down like this.”

 

“I.. Yes, captain.” The scientist just nodded silently, knowing there were no arguing it. There was no way the captain would leave any potential survivors behind without at least trying to help them. Not that he wanted him to, but the situation still gave him the chills.

 

“Ren, we’ll do the cleaning up outside.” The captain nodded to the blonde, which Ren just answered with a content smile. “Figured as much.”

 

Eiki returned the smile calmly before turning his head to Nobu. “When we have cleared the outside, I want you to take John, Evans and Kio and Frances.. And uhm.. Layla, Max, Pete and Sasha as well and start luring them. Youta and Michi will go with you guys. Take Sheila too.”

 

“Yes, captain.” The guy just nodded without questioning, and crawled off to gather his people as demanded.

 

Eiki then looked towards Kiana and layed a hand against her shoulder. “When we have gotten their attention, you’ll go with Eli, Juno and Dave. I want you guys to find whoever is trapped in there and stay with them till we call you. Take Celeste with you. They might need medical help.”

 

“Sure, cap. But are you sure this is alright?” The girl asked with concerns all over her face. “We should have brought more medics..”

 

“It isn’t perfect, but I’m confident we can make it work. Now go, and get ready. Ren and I will begin in 2 minutes.”

 

She nodded smiling weakly and followed the path Nobu just disappeared through, to gather the ones the captain assigned her to, and the captain turned his attention towards Youta. “.. Don’t you let Michi out of your sight, you hear me?” He said quietly while getting on his feet. “I don’t like this one bit. So I’m gonna blame you if we lose him.” He then looked at Ren and nodded. “Let’s go.”

 

The blonde didn’t need to be told twice, and the two quickly sneaked off to find a better spot away from them to start from. The last comment from the captain made the scientist shake his head a bit. “That was sort of mean..”

 

“What was?” The vice asked not too bothered at all by the captains words. “Now come on, we need to join the others, unless we want them to leave us behind.”

 

“The blaming you part. That’s not fair. All sorts of things can go wrong, doesn’t make it your fault.” He shrugged a bit, but got up and followed the vice to their destination.

“Don’t put anything into it. He was just letting me know you’re my only priority. Your personal bodyguard if you will.” Youta smirked. “So don’t make me work too hard, I’m getting old after all.”

 

Michi rolled his eyes but couldn’t help giving off a short smile. “Surely sounds comforting. I shall try my best not to overwork you.”

 

The older chuckled and pushed him in front. “Go to Nobu. And keep an eye out now that your wish to see our duo work gets granted. Be ready to move fast the second they’re done.”

 

He did as demanded and turned his eyes towards the big parking lot, just before he saw a shadow running fast towards the wandering nightwalkers, just to teasingly lure them away to a safe distance from the mall. Then suddenly another shadow caught his attention in the corner of his eye, moving swiftly and just as fast towards the other shadow, that now moved around in circles being careful not to let the remaining nightwalkers than the ones he already gathered catch up to them, as the shadow he now recognized is being Eiki lifted his scythe in a prepared attack on the unsuspecting nightwalkers, that now had gotten so close to Ren that they had started on trying to grab him. But before Michi knew it, Eiki swung the scythed at the group, cutting every single one of the nightwalkers’ heads off. Michi gasped in fear for Ren’s head, but got surprised to find the blonde safely kneeling on the ground as the headless bodies fell to the ground around him, and before he even got up, the captain had already moved on to gather the remaining nightwalkers. “I.. They really do trust each other, don’t they.”

 

“They’re merely playing right now. But yes, this is quite a dangerous game, so they have to.” Youta answered, not even looking impressed by the show.

 

“Playing? How in earth is this them playing?”

 

“They’re testing how many they can each handle to tank. Eiki is still winning it seems.”

 

“What?! How in earth can you be fine with this if the nightwalkers are evolving? Seriously Youta, we already lost a guy, this is no damn time for games and fooling around!”

 

“Calm down, will you? They aren’t goofing around, and yes, I fully trust them not to get themselves killed.”

 

“But they-“

 

“Shut up and watch.” Youta growled and turned the scientist’s head towards the parking lot again, and the younger immediately lost his words by the scene taking place before his eyes. Eiki was now dancing around with 10 of them surrounding him, keeping them busy, but also provoking them in a way that made the scientist’s heart beat faster and faster, while Ren seemed to be doing..  Absolutely nothing?

 

“Tch, that boy.. I can’t believe his actually doing this right now.” It quickly sounded from Youta very displeased.

 

“What are they doing, why is Ren not killing them off already?” Nobu mumbled just as displeased.

 

Youta shook his head and sighed. “He’s waiting. Eiki is trying to force the nightwalkers to show off what they can do. Stupid brat..”

 

“You don’t sound like you trust him very much right now, Youta..” Michi commented, not daring to take his off the captain. “I’m taking he’s doing this for me, so please shut up and let me concentrate..”

He was. The captain was determent on them getting exactly what they came for in the first place, and even though he didn’t even like this tactic of getting it himself. Somehow feeling better knowing that if he could provoke them enough to show off whatever it was they were now able to, the men behind him in their hideout would also be better prepared, for the fight he got them into. He was starting to get tired, which he knew Ren had already seen, as the blonde started to move more and more restless around behind the nightwalkers, showing Eiki that he was going to attack if nothing happen really soon. The captains feet started to get heavier and the sweat dripped from every inch of his body. But instead of accepting the Ren’s motion, he jumped away luring the nightwalkers away with a speed and such a surprise to Ren, that it quickly created a distance between them, causing Ren to waste time catching up rather than preparing for an attack. Eiki knew that was a dangerous move considering the amount of nightwalkers he had on him and his own state, but he just weren’t ready to give up now. Just a little bit more..

 

And then, almost out of nowhere, one of the nightwalkers made an incredible jump into the air threatening to land right on him, while the other nightwalkers moved faster towards the captain, as the jumping one now had him distracted.

 

“Captain, jump! JUMP!” Ren shouted more angrily than scared, moving towards them with a sped not even the scientist understood were possible. The captain were not slow to follow the blonde commands, as he quickly joined the nightwalker in the air, sending him straight back to the ground with a well-placed kick, knocking a couple of the other nightwalkers to the ground as well. Ren already busy cutting nightwalkers into half as he landed on his feet again, where he quickly joined in on the killing with his scythe.

 

“They.. Set him up. They knew Ren was there, they wanted to separate them.. How could they have known..?”  The scientist asked quietly, frozen to the spot. Nightwalkers were braindead zombies, that till now had shown no capability to do any kinds thinking. They were driven on the killer or hunger instincts, nothing more. Or so he had thought. “Youta..” He finally said, shaking himself out of his thoughts looking right at the man with a lost face.

 

“Yes?” The older asked him now obviously worried.

 

“Screw their new.. Talents.. We have a bigger issue here.”

 

“What is it, Michi?”

 

“They can think.. And learn. You need to call the captain here, right now. For all I know, this might even have been their plan all along. Instead of being the ones who got lured here by some survivors, we might just be the ones who got lured into a really, really bad trap!”

 

“No need to call me, I’m already here.” The captain said, already resting in a sitting position on the ground, trying to catch his breath. “And I agree with you-“ He got cut off by a heavy slap to the back of his head, given by a shakingly angry Ren. “Don’t you ever do something so stupid again, you idiot!”

 

The captain groaned while rubbing his head. “Ow… I’m sorry, but it worked, didn’t it?”

 

“Don’t give me that crap, you could’ve gotten yourself killed! There’s no information that is worth that price, Eiki. We promised each other none of us would ever have to do anything alone as long as we’re together, so don’t go making me break that promise by doing something so idiotic again!” He hissed kneeling down at the captain’s side with tears forming in his eyes. “I mean it. I won’t forgive you next time. That was really mean of you.”

 

The captain blinked over the others distress and stared at him for a moment in silence as he didn’t know how to respond, while the rest of the group watched the two just as shocked. He had been captain for so long, he sometimes forgot the fact that some of his comrade might actually see him as something more. It was rare that anyone besides Youta or Hiro showed any actual concern about him, as if he was a friend before being a captain. Suddenly disappointed in himself he shook his head and reached out to dry the tears off the blonde’s cheeks. “I’m sorry, Ren. I didn’t mean to scare you. You’re right, that was really mean of me. But I would never run so far away that you wouldn’t be able to catch up, and I know you’d never stop chasing me till you do.. Just like I’d never stop chasing you. Right?”

 

“But this time was different.. What if I hadn’t gotten to you in time..”

 

“It was different.. But as I said, I would never run that far. Our enemy doesn’t matter, ability to think or set traps or not. We’ve dealt with that before. Don’t chicken out on me just because the nightwalkers suddenly got their brains functioning.”

 

Now the blonde smiled weakly and nodded, pushing the captains shoulder with his own. “As if that would ever happen.”

 

“Good.” The captain smirked with a warm spark in his eyes, before looking up at Youta. “Trap or not, we’re still going in. I agree with Michi, they might have wanted us to do this all along, but we are not leaving this place till we’re absolutely sure no survivors are in there.” Then he turned his look towards Nobu and nodded. “Go. Ren and I will be going in through the basement floor, but leave John and Evans with us instead. Be careful, expect everything.. Literally.”

 

* * *

 

 

Back on the base Hiro was sitting half asleep by his desk with Julian on his lap. He quickly opened his eyes and rubbed his face to wake himself up. He just had to be ready in case the raid called the base, snoozing at a time like this just wouldn’t do, but looking at the content infant sleeping, he just couldn’t help it. It didn’t help that the damn kid looked so cute while asleep either, all peaceful as if nothing in the world could touch or harm him at all. “You mister, is one cruel baby.. Do you know when I last had a sleep like the one you’re having? No? I don’t either.” He stroked the boy’s cheek, but raised a brow as the baby grabbed his hand and started to use his thumb as a dummy. Hiro then rolled his eyes and smiled with a sigh. “Fine, you don’t have to get cuter on me, I’m already jealous enough as it is. Enjoy it while you can, kid.”

He looked towards the screen at all the dots moving around on the map. Happy to see Ren’s dot were still visible. Which meant the nightwalkers hadn’t gotten to him yet. “… It’s weird, you know. I don’t really know him at all. I mean, we haven’t exactly been together for that long, and the whole relationship part is kinda.. New. Very new actually. But he’s the best thing in my world and I don’t have any doubts about him or anything. But now there’s you as well, and I’m honestly not sure I can handle you both at all. You being so little and dependent, and him being so.. Well, out there and.. Independent. I don’t know anything about babies, and I can’t do anything for him but sit here and wait..” He tucked the still sleeping baby in the blanket and pouted. “You’re both gonna be the death of me, heartless creatures. But you’re just both so cute, how could anyone resist your delicious faces..”  A sudden noise from the radio startled him and he quickly turned on the lamp on the desk.

 

“Captain to the base, Hiro are you there?” He blinked and fumbled while trying to get the walkie without waking up the baby. “Hiro, answer me dammit, you better not be sleeping! Pick up the damn walkie this instant!”

 

“Base here, what can I do for you, cap?”

“You can be quicker at answering the damn call, you moron, we’re in trouble!”

 

“What, is Ren okay?!” Checking the screen again, he confirmed the younger’s dot was still active.

 

“Ren is fine, is he all you care about?” Some shouting in the background was heard. Focusing on the voice he could tell it was Ren, sounding like he was arguing with someone, before the captain quickly shut them up with fuming cursing and death-treads. “We’re trapped in the damn basement, and Sora’s been shot!”

 

“What the hell happened? Don’t you have a medic with you?”

 

“No, they’re upstairs with the rest of the raid. I don’t have time to explain dammit, some freaking idiot just shot him okay, and we can’t get to the medics or anywhere else!” Suddenly another voice came closer. “We didn’t mean to shoot the boy, we thought you were one of them!” Then he heard the captains voice turn towards the other’s growling with anger. “When the hell have you ever seen nightwalkers carry these types of weapons and look like this? Get back there and shut up!” Then the captains turned clear again. “We’re surrounded by nightwalkers, Hiro, and we can’t get out, and Youta is not answering me. I can’t lose Sora too, Hiro!”

 

“I.. Alright, alright. Calm down, cap. I will get a hold of the rest of the raid and get you help, okay?”

 

“Hurry!”

 

“I will, over.”

 

* * *

 

 

The captain let the walkie fall to the ground the moment he had told Hiro to hurry, and quickly placed the now free hand over the gun wound over the other to add the extra pressure to it. “Dammit, Sora.. You’re not closing your eyes, do you hear me. Keep them open. Talk to me.”

 

Sora just laid flat on the ground as if it was nothing, but the expression on his face revealed the pain he was in. “Hah.. Don’t make me seem dead just yet, captain. I’ll be fine, it just.. Ngh.. Scratched me. I’m good.”

 

“You’re an idiot, you weren’t even supposed to be in this group.. I don’t even know if it hit an artery. This is very far from a scratch. But you’re right, you will be fine. And you won’t disobey my orders again, I’ll make sure of that when we’re back home.”

 

“Hehe..” The wounded chuckled with a strained face. “I know you will, captain.”

 

“We really didn’t mean to shoot your friend, but we’re surrounded by those things and we weren’t exactly expecting any normal people showing up!” It sounded from the argument still going on behind them, and the captain turned his head towards the group Ren had cornered, refusing to let them anywhere near the captain and the wounded. “We came here because of the suspicious activity that’s been going on here, and our captain meant survivors might be the reason. I would shut up and not make him regret that decision any further, if I were you.”

 

“How the hell were we supposed to know any of that?!” The stranger argued just as angry, while an even younger girl hiding behind him looked towards the captain with confusion. “That’s your captain..?”

 

“That’s our captain. Don’t judge him by his appearance. He could kill you all in seconds if he wanted to. You might think the nightwalkers are scary, but I can assure you, you wouldn’t want to mess with him right now.” The girl shook her head and to a step closer.

 

“No sir, but I might be able to help your friend. If you would let me. Can I please?” She asked and tried to look as friendly as she possibly could. Ren shortly looked towards the captain, who just nodded to his silent question, before he looked at the girl again. “Go ahead, but your friends are staying right here with me.” The girl quickly nodded and ran to the captain, who now looked towards Evans and John who still made sure the nightwalkers didn’t break through the blockade door to the room with a couple of the survivors, the captain had ordered to help them out and they had obeyed without questions, unlike the ones trapped by Ren.

 

“Can I see the wound, mister Captain?” The young girl asked as she sat down next to him, and he nodded slowly, cursing the situation silently in his head. He looked at her and sighed, a bit resistant to remove his hand. “Captain, I really need to see the wound if I am to help.”

 

Sora frowned, sweat dripping off his forehead and Eiki could hear the troubled breathing in his voice. “Captain, no matter how much I enjoy it.. I need you to get you, hah.. Get your hands off of me.. Mphf, let the nice girl help.”

 

Eiki looked at Sora and slowly removed his hands from his leg. “Sorry.. I was just wondering when the others would get their asses here, is all.” He looked at the girl again, as she quickly ripped the pants around the wound open so she could get better access. She couldn’t be any more than 13, he thought to himself. He knew not even the youngest couldn’t be trusted anymore, but she didn’t cause any alarm bells to ring. He couldn’t exactly say the same for the group of men Ren had cornered. Something was just off about them. Looking closer at the ones that was working with Evans and John, he realized that they too looked awfully young, and too eager to please the ones that ordered them around for the time being. Except for one man Eiki guessed were somewhere in his mid-twenties. He didn’t seem eager to please Evans or John, but he still seemed to obey the orders he got without objections. The more he looked at the group, the more the vibes he got from them became suspicious. Something was wrong here.

 

“It’s not so bad. It didn’t hit and artery, but he has lost a lot of blood.” The girl interrupted his thoughts and he quickly looked at her again with relief, as she had torned the bottom of her dress and tried her best to tie it tightly around the leg right above the wound.

 

“Let me help you with that, we need to make sure it’s good and tight, right?” The captain said with a weak smile towards the girl, and she smiled just as weakly as a thank you, and he quickly took over her work “Yes captain. He does need to have the bullet removed, but I don’t think doing it here would be good, and we don’t have any tools to do it.. I’m very sorry I can’t be more of help.”

 

“No need to be sorry.. See captain, I said it was just a scratch.” Sora coughed and smirked, and looked up at the girl. “Thank you for the help, sweetie.. What’s your name?”

 

“Amy..” The girl answered obediently suddenly very flustered over Sora’s kind words.

 

The captain turned his attention towards the girl again and with a gentle look. “Thank you very much for your help, Amy. I was really scared I were about to lose this idiot. His name is Sora, mine is Eiki.” The girl looked confused up at him, then back to Sora, and then again up at him as if she didn’t understand their kindness at all. This made both Eiki and Sora look at each other with obvious questions they just couldn’t say out loud.

“I don’t understand.” She said with a low voice. “Why aren’t you mad, mister captain and mister Sora?”

 

“Why would we be mad? You helped, and I’m grateful. You haven’t done anything wrong, Amy.” Eiki assured her, observing her closely.

 

“Well.. I only diagnosed him and.. I can’t make him better, the wound is still really bad, even if stable.. Sir.” She replied looking nervous. Which only confirmed the captains suspicions, though he was sure there was even more behind her fear, that he couldn’t get into right now. Not that he needed to, he already decided exactly what he was to do with the group of survivors. But for now, all they could do was wait for rescue, hoping for no more surprises. Of course, the group Ren had at gunpoint could try something funny any moment, but he was sure the blonde wouldn’t give them much of a chance to do so, as he seemed to have figured something out about them as well. Lucky for them, these men had already seen what they were capable off when they had come to their aid and fought their way to this room. And the captain hoped that the thought of rescue from this place would be enough to keep them in line, as they probably already had figured they’d never get out alive without his raid’s help.

 

An hour went by like this, which then became two hours. The captain was starting to lose his patience and were seconds away from calling Hiro again to hear whether he got contact to the rest of the raid or not, but he figured that Hiro himself would have called out if he had lost all contact. But it was driving him insane. Sitting there, trapped in a supply room, with way too many nightwalkers outside the room constantly trying to get in, growling loudly and hungry as a constant reminder that his raiders were somewhere upstairs and he had no idea what had happened to any of them. Not to mention his worries for Sora, who was fine considering his circumstances, but still far from out of danger. Ren kept the men in his captivity busy by starring them down as if it was the whole purpose of his life. They still didn’t make any moves to turn the situation around, though one of them surely seemed to want to, about to lose his patience just like the captain himself. But then, suddenly the loud fighting against the door from the nightwalkers on the other side of it went silent, which immediately attracted the attention from all of them.

 

“.. Captain?” Ren asked, tightening his grip on the pistols in his hand, unsure what to do.

 

“Don’t move, Ren. Keep those guys where they are.” The captain looked towards the group at the door. ”John, get ready to attack. Evans and the rest of you, get back here and shield Sora and Amy. Now!” He got on his feet, quickly grapping his scythe he walked towards the door next to john and got ready to fight whatever would break through it. But nothing happened. And just as the room they were trapped in got filled with anxious whispers behind him, a loud slam on the door shocked the younger survivors, while none from his team moved a muscle. Another slam against the door, then another, and another, till it became more demanding. “CAPTAIN!” Someone finally yelled, and the captain breathe out the tension. “Captain are you in there?!”

 

“Youta, finally.. We’re here! We’ve got survivors in here, is it safe to come out?” He answered and asked the man loudly.

 

“No, stay in there. It shouldn’t be more than a minute now.” The older answered and the captain frowned.

 

“A minute? What the hell do you mean by-“ A loud explosion that forced most of them to cover their ears and made the whole building shake interrupted him before he could finish, but as soon as the noise started to settle down he kicked the door. “What the hell did I say about explosives?! What is it with you people and disobeying me today?!” He screamed annoyed at the older.

 

 

“Sorry captain, but we didn’t have any choice. Get out now, we have to move quickly!” He didn’t need to be told twice, as he already nodded towards John and Evans and all three of them already started to remove the barricade in front of the door. The captain then looked towards Ren. “Keep your guns at those guys Ren.” He let John and Evans finish unblocking the door, walking over to pick up Sora, he looked towards the older man that stood protectively in front of the younger starring at him. The captain nodded to the older. “Could you perhaps help me with Sora, so we can get out of here? You won’t need to worry, we have a safe place where there’s room for all of you. Food, a bed, those things. Sounds good?”

 

The man curved his lips a bit clearly trying to figure out what type this captain boy was. It was odd enough these people referred to this tiny figure in front of him as their captain, this offer he now presented to him sounded even more odd. No one offered that sort without expecting some sort of payment for it. And as he finally saw an opportunity to get the younger ones away safely from the guys whose been holding them captive for so long, he didn’t want to drag them into a new group that might be just as bad, or worse, if that was even possible . The captain quickly picked up on his doubts, and gave him a warm look. “Hi. Look at me. You and the others are safe now. We came here to get you out of this place, and considering my raid just risked their lives just to do exactly that, I can promise you that no harm will be done, to any of you by any of us. You have my word.”

 

Slowly nodding, the man kneeled down to pick the wounded up. “Alright.. Yeah, okay. Let’s go then.” Though Sora didn’t seem all to happy about being carried princess-style, he didn’t object as he didn’t really have any other choice, and they all rushed to the door as soon as it opened and Youta came in sight.

 

“That was about damn time, now move it. To the parking lot, fast!” Youta commanded, and John and Evans ran off guiding the man carrying Sora and the younger ones out. “Where’s Michi?” the captain demanded to know. “He’s fine. Less questions, more running!”

 

Eiki turned his look towards the men Ren covered after making sure the group was out of sight. “Let’s go, Ren. We’re done here.”

 

“What about these guys?” The blonde asked, even though he already knew the answer.

 

“We have no use for them. Leave them.” The captain just replied shortly shrugging.

 

“What?!” The men started objecting and yelling in each other’s mouths at realization that they were actually about to get abandoned. “You can’t be serious!” One yelled. “You can’t just leave us here!”

 

But the captain just answered them with a loud growl. “I don’t know what the hell you did to those kids, but there are no rooms for the likes of you among us, so shut up and just be happy that I’m not ripping you apart myself. Don’t even try to pretend to be innocent. But here’s a damn tip for you, that explosion can only have attracted more of them so I would get out of here before you get trapped again. We won’t be coming back to save your sorry asses a second time.”

 

“Little piece of shit.” The big guy finally said. “Knew we should have taken you down. Don’t think we’ll just let you get away with this. No one fucks around with me, got that brat?”

 

The captain frowned and sent the guy a piercing look followed by a teasing smirk. “But it seems like I just did, big guy. While your clever threats surely were entertaining for those two whole seconds there, I’m afraid you’re already boring me.”

 

The man got on his feet, starring him down just as piercing, growling as the captain’s mocking attitude simply made him want to see that pretty face beaten up so bad you wouldn’t be able to recognize it after. “I won’t be so boring next time we meet. You’ll be begging me for mercy before you now it, brat. You’ll see.”

 

The captain calmly backed out of the room, starring them down till Ren had safely backed out as well. “Oh, I wouldn’t count on a second date if I were you. Sometimes it’s just not meant to be.” And with that, the captain closed the door before they started running towards the exit to the parking lot.

 

“You sure it’s alright to leave them like that?” Youta asked as they ran.

 

“I don’t know. But I sure as hell don’t want them on our base. There’s was no cars near when we got here, so I’m guessing they came here on foot, or might even have been here for a while. They won’t be able to follow us back.” He replied.

 

“You got the cars here?” He noticed the moment they got out on the parking lot and ran towards them without caring for an answer right at this time, he was just grateful Youta hadn’t ordered an explosion like that without making sure of a quick exit, though now it made sense why it had taken them so long. They hurried in the van as the wild roars from nearby nightwalkers were already heard. Looking out the window as their convoy started moving, he could see the men running out on the parking lot, just as they were about to exit it. Did he feel guilty, as he left them there to face whatever fate they were about to meet?

 

Yes. You wouldn’t be able to see it on his face, but if you were able to see through his eyes shields, it would be easy to tell nothing of it made any sense to him at all. He didn’t recognize himself anymore, not in his actions anyways. He didn’t even have any real proof that those men were actually bad, other than the feeling he had in his gut. But thinking of all the people that counted on him to keep them safe and sound back at the base, he thought it wiser to trust his gut when no real proof of either innocence or guilt were to be found. But just because he couldn’t let his people know his own occasional doubts about his judgment, didn’t meant he didn’t feel it. It was his own burden to bear.

 

“Don’t feel bad.” A voice interrupted him, and he turned his gaze towards it. It was the older survivor from the group, sitting in the back of the van with Amy cuddled closely up against him on his lap.  “It’s good that you feel bad, but don’t.” He said calmly looking straight at him with a strange expression.

 

“Erh.. I don’t. It was the right call.” The captain said dumbfounded and scratched his neck, unsure what to make of the man’s words. But before the man could answer him, he turned his attention towards the rest of the van’s passengers. “As soon as we get back to the camp, I want reports of what happened on the top floors, and I want the medics to work on Sora the moment we stop the engines.” He then looked at the driving Youta. “And I want somebody to give those kids from the survivor group a quick check. Names, ages, things like that. We’ll leave the rest to Midori once we’re back at the base tomorrow.”

 

Youta just nodded hitting a stray nightwalker with the side of the van. “Of course, captain. But are you sure you wouldn’t want to head straight back to the base instead?”

 

“Yes. We need to tend to Sora right away, Amy’s orders, and I need to know what the hell happened. We’ll head back to the base as soon as the sun rises. Besides, it’s less risky driving back during the daytime with a group as big as ours.”

 

These words had the older man frown a bit, but then he chuckled and nodded. “I see, and who might this Amy be, that even you won’t dare disobeying?”

“The lovely young girl sitting in the back. She was a great help to us in time of need, unlike you.”

 

The vice-captain smirked and looked up at the girl in the rear-view mirror. “I see! We’re in debt to you now, little miss. Thank you for coming to our idiotic commander’s aid. He were supposed to be upstairs with the rest of us, you know, but for some reason he thought the captain needed his help.” He then nodded towards the captain once again. “And if that’s Amy’s orders, then that’s how it shall be.”

 

“I can hear you, old man.” Sora hissed from his laying position on the floor. “And he obviously.. Nghn.. Did need my help. If I weren’t there he might have been the one to get shot at.” At this Ren, who was the owner of the lap he were currently using as a pillow, looked down at him raising a brow. “He isn’t a virgin when it comes to being shot, Sora. And may I just add, he takes a bullet a lot better than you do.”

 

Sora pouted and crossed his arm over his chest. “I don’t understand this cruelty.”

 

The captain gave off a tired smile and shook his head. “You disobeyed my orders. I shall thank my hero for taking the bullet, even if I’m not a virgin when it comes to that. However, I will still kick your ass for the disobeying part.” He got up from the seat and started to move towards the back of the van.

 

“I’ll look forward to that!” A bump on the road made the wounded cry out in his pain, and the captain stumble and fall on his butt a lot harder on the van’s floor than he planned. “Dammit Youta, watch your driving will you! Some of us got a bleeding wound here!” Sora complained as the captain rubbed his butt with a displeased look.  “Ouch..”

 

“You’re fine, Sora. The bleeding stopped already, you’re such a crybaby.” Ren stated.

 

The older survivor looked at the butt-rubbing captain, trying to suffocate a laughter. “Are you alright?”

 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Pain reminds you, your body is still working, right?” He scooted over next to the man and leaned his back towards the back of the van. “It’s always nice to know your butt is still there.”

 

This time the man couldn’t help but smile, and looked away. “I suppose. So.. You’re their captain, huh?”

 

“I am. Why, is there something weird about that?” when the man looked back at the captain, all he found was Eiki starring at him with a curious expression. Even tilting his head like a questioning kitten when the man didn’t answer him. “.. What? You know, it’s rude to stare like that.”

 

The man swallowed and shook his head. “Uhm, no, sorry.. It’s just.. You’re so.. Erh..”

 

“Cute?” Ren offered.

 

“Girly.” Sora added.

 

“Tiny and squishable looking?” Youta suggested.

 

“That’s true.” Ren nodded with a considering expression. “And pretty. Like one of those really expensive dolls. My mom used to collect those.”

 

“That’s enough!” Eiki huffed annoyed ready to beat them all up for those remarks.

 

“Actually.. All of that. Kinda..” The man admitted with a sigh. “Usually people chose their strongest alpha-type, so to speak, as their captain. From you guys, I would have placed my money on the driver.”

 

Ren looked towards him, smiling as brightly as ever. “Oh, I wouldn’t make the mistake of thinking of our captain to be weak, if I were you.  The only thing he’s weak at, is caring for his hair. He wanted a mommy bird to live in it.”

 

“.. Ren.. You.. I give up.” The captain sighed and rubbed his forehead.

 

The man chuckled and stroked the half-asleep girl over her hair. “You people are not the usual type we run into.”

 

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” The captain shrugged and looked up at him again. “What’s your name, if you don’t mind me asking?”

 

“Ah, sorry. Daichi.” The man smiled and met the captains eyes. “Captain..?”

 

“Eiki. But most just call me by captain alone, so that’s fine.” Tilting his head again he sent the man a warm smile. “Amy, is she your little sister? The two of you seem close.”

 

“No, she’s my niece..”

 

“She seems like a very talented girl. Can I ask where she got that knowledge from? She look liked she was actually prepared to remove the bullet from Sora herself if she had gotten the chance.. I can’t help but wonder.”

 

“Her mother was a doctor. Surgeon actually.. And she’s been in charge of taking care of well.. Wounds.. Since we ended up in that group.”

 

The captain nodded slowly to his words and closed his eyes. “How did you end up with those guys?”

 

“.. It’s.. A long story.” Daichi closed his eyes and rested his head with a heavy looking expression. “Short version is, they found us, took Amy, dragged us to the mall and kept us there. I tried to fight them off, but.. They were a lot against one. And I couldn’t risk them hurting Amy. They kept us apart from then for.. I don’t know how long it’s been.. I wanted to escape with her, but I couldn’t leave those other kids behind with those guys, and.. Well, as bad as our situation was, there was no way I could take care of all of them on my own, so..”

 

“Wait, wait.. So you guys have been in that mall, with all those nightwalkers around all this time? We registered the activity about a week ago.. And decided to clear it as the number of them just kept growing. How in earth did you manage that?”

 

“We.. Stayed indoors, and did what we could to fight them off from the roof. They didn’t get inside until today, and that’s when we attempted to flee. That didn’t end too well as you already know and we ended up being overpowered by them in the basement. And that was we you guys found us.”

 

“I’m surprised you survived that long..”

 

“Yeah, there was about 40 of us before you showed up. ”

 

“And.. Without including those guys we left behind, now your down to 9..” The captain rubbed his neck and shook his head. “I’m sorry we didn’t get to you sooner. Had I known all of this, we would have done something about it when we discovered it.. It’s just been a very long time since we last registered any signs of survivors, so.. I guess I just figured there weren’t really any left, and if so, that they had fled the city. Like we did..”

 

“There was no way you, or anyone else could have known, so don’t beat yourself too much up about it. Besides, I was pretty sure myself that we were the only ones still left. Which was why we opened fire at you guys. I had to keep the kids safe, checking who was human or nightwalker was the last thing on my mind.”

 

“I know, I’m not blaming you really. I just got angry in the heat. Sora is very important to me. So is the rest of them.”

 

“Sorry about shooting your friend. I was aiming at you, if that helps.”

 

This made Sora huff in protest. “That was you? And no, that doesn’t help, jackass. Where the hell did you learn how to shoot? If you can’t hit what you’re aiming at, then you shouldn’t be touching a rifle in the first place.”

 

“I was also aiming for his head.”

 

“And you hit my fucking leg?!”

 

Daichi shrugged and the captain looked away doing his best keeping in his laughter. “Isn’t it actually luck in bad luck at this point? What are you complaining about?”

 

“How the hell can you be laughing at this captain? And no, luck should not be involved at all! It’s no damn wonder so little of you survived with that kind of mentality. You gotta learn how to fight properly, otherwise you’re screwed.”

 

“Now, now. That’s quite enough, Sora. I’m sure he already knows and doesn’t need a lecture.” The captain intervened.

 

“Of course.” Daichi nodded with a shrug again. “But not all of us has been trained to fight like you guys. Where did you learn to fight like that anyways? it was pretty impressive.”

 

“That would be our captains doing. He takes our training very serious, and doesn’t let anyone who can’t defend themselves or their team members out of the base. Not before making sure they have learned how to do so anyways.” Youta jumped in shining with pride. “We’re very lucky to have him.”

 

Daichi looked towards the captain with a doubting expression. “Again I ask, are you kidding me? Alright, so you’re their chosen captain, but now you gotta be joking, right?” Shaking his head he just couldn’t wrap his mind around it. “Nope. Just a big nope, there’s no way that little thing could actually be responsible for that, while our leader weren’t even able to teach our group how to fight. He was in the military. I think you people are trying to make your captain look more impressive than he actually is, and I won’t fall for it.”

 

Youta burst out in laughter, the captain pretended like he heard nothing while checking the sleeping girl, and Sora growled annoyed but got cut off by Ren who placed his hand over the growling mouth with a sweet smile. “Hush. Not now.”

 

Then the captain smiled up towards Daichi with that kitten look that now started to get on his nerves, though he didn’t know why. The captain was clearly one of the good guys, but something about him just started to annoy him. Maybe it was the pretty picture they all seemed to be painting of the guy. He had seen with his own eyes what the little guy were capable of, but now it just started to seem all too perfect. “No matter what you believe, it’s true my rules are like that. So you better take a very good look at the sun once it rises. You won’t be seeing it again for a while, until I’m sure you know how to fight. If you are to go out on raids even, we might just find something else for you to do, that suits you better. I’ll discuss our rules and terms for living on the base with you later.”

 

 “.. I’m sure we’ll be fine with it. You seem like decent people. I don’t really care what you do with me, as long as the kids will be fine in your care.”

 

And with that the van finally stopped. Youta was the first to jump out, Ren followed and together they got Sora out before the captain and the remaining passengers followed them.


	7. Chapter 7

Two hours later, Daichi found himself sitting with a cup of soup by a bonfire, surrounded by activity. To one side the captain was sitting on the front of a jeep, discussing the night’s events with his raiders. He raised a brow as the kitten looking guy somehow looked different now. It wasn’t the kitten-vibe he got from him anymore, but something else. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it though. On the other side, the kids from his group were gathered as the two medics gathered the information the captain had ordered, and looked each of the kids roughly over, just to make sure they didn’t have any wounds that needed attention. Which of course pretty much all of them had, so the medics found themselves plenty busy while also tending to their own wounded raiders, with Amy eagerly running around to help where she could, though both Celeste and Sheila tried to make her stay with the rest of the group, and ended up leaving her with Michi instead. The sight made Daichi chuckle behind his cup. She was his everything. The time being separated from her, not knowing what those guys had done to her, or didn’t do, had been more than a nightmare every second of it. She hadn’t told him anything at all, those few times they had seen each other, but he knew something had happened. Mostly because she had changed completely, and weren’t even close to be the girl he used to know, before they ended up in that group. She used to be a lot more strong-willed, outgoing, not to mention independent. While she had always been an extremely kind and gentle being, she never did anything just to please people. And he bet those other kids, most of them at least, probably had been the same. Not knowing what kinds of terrors those poor kids have had to bear with, and not being able to do anything about it ate him up inside. As legit as this new group seemed to be, he still hesitated about the thought of going to their so called ‘base’. What if the situation turned completely around the second they got there and the door were slammed. It could be a trap. Even if he didn’t see what those people would want with him and the kids, they did literally just escape the other group, so these people could have their own sick reasons. For all he knew, that cute kitten might not even be the real captain, but just a kid they used as he looked trustworthy and had an easier time getting people to go with him unsuspected. That could be it. Rubbing his forehead over a growing headache, he looked towards the captain again, who was still occupied with talking to raiders, and to a radio it seemed, as the medic he had come to know was Celeste delivered a piece of paper to him. The captain only looked shortly at the paper before he nodded to the medic. He couldn’t hear their words as there were too much noise going on around him, but guessed it was probably the information about the kids the captain had wanted. 

“He’s just preparing the base for what they can expect to receive when we get back, so we can start proper treatment of them right away.” A gentle voice said next to him, and he turned his look towards it. 

“Hah..?”

“My name is Ren. You were worried about your kids, right?”

“Daichi..” He nodded slowly, not sure about how to react to the sudden approach from the blonde. “They aren’t mine exactly. But yes, I suppose I was.”

The blonde took a sip from his own cup of soup and sighed satisfied. “Nice to meet you, Daichi You can stop worrying. It’ll only give you a headache, and it will prove to be all for nothing.”

“No offense, but I got no proof to actually think like that. You people might seem nice, but you never know these days.”

“I understand. And no offense taken.” Ren smiled clearly relaxed. “But he really is a good guy. We have no hidden agendas, schemes or anything of the likes. Things are as you see them. I know things are horrible out here, but back at the base, many people have already forgotten that nightwalkers aren’t the horror up here.”

Now that the guy had less weapons on him, he somehow looked smaller to Daichi. Less of a threat. Almost something he would have consider eye-candy, if it hadn’t been for all the blood he was still somewhat covered in, and obvious wounds, both new and old bandaged ones. “Up.. Here?” He drank a bit more of the soup and considered his words a bit. They sounded honest. “I don’t know.. It just all seems a bit too.. Good. Wait, there’s more of you? More people?”

Ren nodded and met his eyes. “It’s underground. And that’s all I’m gonna tell you, as we don’t know if we can trust you yet either.” He smiled brightly and nodded again, looking up at the stars. “About 300 I think. Maybe more.. I don’t know. I don’t keep count on us. That’s the captain’s job, not mine. Oh well, And Youta’s I suppose. He’s the vice-captain after all. I’m just a raider.”

Daichi frowned. “Just a raider.. What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That’s my job. Not everybody goes outside the base. My boyfriend haven’t left it since we arrived there. He’s the one the captain keeps chatting with on the radio. Hiro.”

“Ah.. The one who assumedly fell asleep on the job, eh?”

“He is taking care of our baby to be fair. That can be hard, you know.”

“… Baby..?”

“Yes, baby.”

Daichi starred at him mouth dropping. “Uh.. Uhm..”

“I didn’t give birth to it, please. I found him abandoned, in another mall on the other side of the city.”

“You’re serious?”

“None of us has been joking around with you so far.”

“You got a baby.”

“I do. And I would trust the captain with his life, Hiro’s life, as I trust him with mine. I don’t think there’s anyone here who doesn’t. But you’ll see it for yourself soon enough.”

Daichi sighed and looked in the direction of the captain again, only to find he wasn’t there anymore. “So you just follow each of his commands, no questions asked. Really?”

“He has never given us a reason not to. He saved me. He’s my friend, and I’m happy I can help him make a sanctuary like he has. Looking at the world around us now, it’s hard to believe that there’s a place where we can still have fun and find reasons to smile. Right?”

“.. Right.”

“Well, there is a place like that. And Eiki was the one who made that happen. We could have followed Youta, and he’s a great guy. But I doubt we would have what we have, if we had done that instead. Just because he’s stronger and bigger looking.”

“Why is that?”

The blonde shrugged and left his cup on the ground. “He’s actually weaker, first of all. But he also wanted us to put Julian back where we found him.”

“Julian?” Daichi blinked. “He doesn’t exactly look weaker, so I will cling to my right to doubt that he is..”

“The baby’s name is Julian. And trust me, he is. He is a fine fighter, but he’s not anywhere near Eiki’s level. Size doesn’t always matter, you know. Eiki and I took both you guys and the nightwalkers on easily enough, didn’t we?”

“Yeah, I’m still not really sure how you two did that exactly.. At first it looked like you were the only one there. Other than the friend of yours I shot that is, and that other guy.. John, was it?”

“You weren’t supposed to see me or Evans. That’s how we fight. It’s easier to do than explain.” A voice now interrupted them from behind. The captain just smiled warmly at them as they turned their heads. “No details about it till you end up in training yourself though, if that is where you end up. You might be a better chef after all.”

“Hi captain. Are we ready to head back to the base soon?” Ren asked. Still fully relaxed, and not paying attention to Daichi who on the other hand tensed up a bit as the captain moved closer.

“Mhm, the sun should be rising soon. I told the other to drink their soup and get ready. Same goes for you.” Eiki gave the blonde a gentle pet on the head, before sitting down on the other side of Daichi, to Daichi’s grief. 

Ren quickly understood the hint and got up on his feet with ‘yes captain’ before walking away to give the two some space, grabbing Amy who now attempted to return to her uncle. “Your hair is a mess, sweetie. Why don’t I fix that up a bit, before we go back to the base?”

She looked uncertain up at Ren, then at her uncle. She didn’t say anything, though she didn’t try to struggle either.

“Your uncle and the captain just need to chat for a bit, it won’t take long. You’ll sit with him and us in the van again. We won’t take him away from you, I promise.” Ren offered as gently as he could, this time getting a nod from the girl who took his hand. 

“Okay.” Was the only thing she said. And the captain sent the blonde a grateful nod, before turning his full attention towards the tensed up Daichi. 

“You don’t really like me all that much, do you, Daichi?”

Daichi felt like his whole body froze by those words. Clearing his throat, he shook his head. “It’s more that I don’t really trust you all that much yet. I don’t know you, so I can’t like or not like you.”

“Well that’s fine. I don’t trust you either.”

“Excuse me? I’m the one with a bunch of hurt kids to protect here.”

“And I got 234 people to protect.”

“… Touché. Ren said you had more.”

“He’s wrong. We had more, but past events made us lose some, and also taught us to be picky with who we invite inside. And how we do it. You can be sure I probably would have left you behind as well, if it wasn’t because the kids seem to be trusting you, and you didn’t object when I told you to help John and Evans.”

Daichi nodded slowly. The boy really didn’t sound much like a kitten right at this moment. He didn’t sound cold either, just.. Firm and he could see the seriousness of the topic painted all over his face. “Fair enough.. But why would you agree to take me to your base, if you don’t trust me?”

The captain stretched his back and looked up at him. “I just said it, those kids trust you. I don’t turn my back on innocent people, Daichi. Humans need to stand together now, not fall apart. All you have to do is follow our rules and we’ll be good. Trust will be built as we go. Real trust is earned, not given.”

Daichi gave off a short smile and sighed heavily. “That’s true. I’ll need to know these.. Rules. But as long as the kids will be safe, I’m good. I do have a question for you though.”

“Ask away.”

“Back in the van, right when we left the mall. You looked back to check if the other guys in my group got out, right?”

The captain nodded with a frown. “… I did, that’s right. And they did. If they actually got away is another unanswered question.”

“Yeah. What the hell was the sad face about?”

“Sad face?”

“Don’t play around with me. You might fool these people, but you aren’t fooling me.”

And then it was back. That head-tilting kitten expression, which cause Daichi to freeze on the spot again. “I’m not trying to fool anyone. I’m just surprised you actually caught that. Besides Hiro or Ren, no one else seems to. Well maybe Youta does a bit.. I don’t know. But yeah, I was a bit sad I suppose you could say.”¨

“Well why? Those were bad guys. Why would you feel bad about protecting your people from them, it doesn’t make any sense.”

“They’re still human. Every life counts, and it makes me sad when people turn into.. What those guys were, at a time like this. We need each other now. To stand together. To survive, and to fight the nightwalkers. If we hope to one day be able to live up here safely again, and restore humanity. If not for us, then for our children, or our children’s children.. And it doesn’t make sense to me why we can’t stand united.” 

There it was again. Right there, hidden behind the captains eyes. The sadness he saw earlier in the van. Which twisted Daichi’s feelings around in a way he didn’t appreciate at all. But mostly because, when you just looked at the boy’s face, he seemed completely normal and fine. His eyes too, simply sparkled with curiosity and wonder. It was like that weird sadness were locked up somewhere deep within those black eyes that right gazed attentive back at him. He didn’t believe the captain though, even if his words sounded honest enough. But it could be the boy didn’t even know the reason himself. “… I’ll follow them. Your rules, whatever they are. They can’t be all that difficult.” 

The captain shook his head, pleased to see the guy seemed less suspicious and undecided. So he simply nodded with a warm smile. “They’re not. I don’t want any violence happening on the base, other than in the training areas, and I don’t want any uncontrolled violence happening anywhere at all. Everybody needs to be able to feel safe.”

“Of course.”

“I decide when, or if your training in order to join the raiders starts, and I’ll also decide what you’re role in the raids will be. Not to mention when you’re ready to go out with a raid. When you’re being called by either me or Youta, you show up, and if we ask you to do something, you do it. We won’t ask anything of you, that you can’t handle.”

“You’re the captain..”

“That’s right. Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be served, and is available at specific times. No one is allowed to raid our food supply, as we might get into troubles if that happens. Our doctor decides if extra nutrition is needed for an individual.”

“Alright..”

“No weapons allowed in untrained hands. All kids needs to be in their beds by 21:00, up by 08:00, go to school during the day, and go to the activity floor until dinner. And everybody cleans up whatever mess they make themselves. Those are our written rules. We do have unwritten ones as well, but you’ll have to learn those as you go. As Amy is your niece, I’ll let you decide whether she stays in a room with you, or if she goes to share a room with the other kids her age. It might be good for her to be with the others, but I understand if the two of you need to stay together for now.”

Daichi blinked as the captain got on his feet and reached his hand towards him. “If this is acceptable to you, then come. It’s time to go.”

He considered it for a few seconds, but then nodded and accepted the captains help to get up. Getting back in the van, he just hoped it really was true. If that was all there was to these.. Laws.. It almost sounded like the most basic rules that living together with other people demanded. Still feeling like it was too good to be true, he was now sitting in the back of the van, once again with Amy wrapped up in a blanket and cuddling up against him. The captain was back in his seat in the front, and as the sun began to shine brighter in the sky, the two of them and Youta, seemed to be the only ones who weren’t fast asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

A whole month had passed since he and Amy had arrived to the base. And he’d be damned if he wouldn’t admit it had been great. And so, Daichi was indeed damned, because no matter how great it might have been, he’s stubborn self just wouldn’t let go of the suspicions he had from the very beginning. Though none of them had proven to be true. Amy seemed to get along with the other kids just fine, with a few bumps on the road here and there. But mostly that was due to her dong things she shouldn’t be doing, just to please the grown-up’s. But the people in both the ‘school’ and on the activity floor, seemed to be handling her well compared to a couple of the other kids that had been in his group. They still didn’t know the exact reasons behind their odd behavior towards grown-up’s, as the kids simply refused to speak of it.  But they had some pretty good ideas about what the guys from his old group had done to them. Or rather, trained them to do. Truth was, they all behaved more like harshly trained obedient dogs, than they behaved like kids their age. The doctor sure had suggested him trying to push Amy to talk about it, saying it would be good for her to get it off her chest. But he had refused, as he thought it would be better for the girl to open up about it herself, when she was ready for it. For now all he wanted to do was keep reassuring her that he was there, and wouldn’t leave her side again. She had also been sleeping in his room, but about a week ago she suddenly wanted to go to the room the other kids shared, and he had let her. He didn’t know exactly if that was a good idea, or if he should have refused, but he wanted to respect her choice. Mostly because he didn’t want to reject the first real demand she had made. He wanted to protect and shelter the life out of her, but he also wanted the strong independent girl he knew back. And so, this had quickly become a very frustrating time, at least for him. And without anyone, or anything else to take his frustrations out on, the captain became his target for that. So right now, he found himself standing in the door to the meeting-room, literally starring at him. He was the only one in the room, had been for the past 15 minutes. Daichi would know, cause that’s exactly how long he’d been there starring. Quiet, simply starring, like a creep. Well, starring at his back that is, as the captain was standing bend over the table starring at some maps that had circles drawn all over them. And he was wearing those extremely annoying shorts. The shorts that just seemed to piss every inch of Daichi off, which only pissed him even more off, cause nobody else seemed to mind at all. They sure as hell noticed, he knew that much, cause the captain would more than enough gazes whenever he walked around the base wearing them, even though the captain himself seem to be oblivious to it. God how they annoyed him, those dumb shorts. Those dumb shorts that just painted an all too perfect picture in his mind about that butt. Not that the pair of pants the captain had were any better, they had holes everywhere in them, and he just barely kept them on his body as they were too big. Combined with those dumb revealing tops and t-shirts he also wore, there was simply too much goddamn skin going on. Someone should seriously take up the job to get the boy some proper clothing. That was it, he had to talk to Youta about that. Even if nobody complained, it just weren’t appropriate for a captain to be walking around like that.

 

“What is it, Daichi. Is it annoying to look, but not being allowed to touch?” It sounded from the captain out of nowhere.

 

“.. Touch what, exactly.”

 

“My butt. You’ve been starring at it for almost.. 20 minutes now.”

“What, no. I don’t wanna touch.. That. It’s disgusting. Would it hurt you to get some proper damn pants?”

 

“Hm, pants.. It’s funny though, cause you’re the only one growling instead of drooling at the sight of it. I guess I figured my clothes were fine, since not even the straight boys seems to be offended by it. But I suppose I could be wrong.”

 

“So you DO know they’re all over you?”

 

“It’s hard to miss so many eyes when they’re on you. Besides, I do flirt back from time to time. It’s fun.”

 

This only made Daichi growl loudly. “Seriously. Is that how you became captain, and keep being it? You flirt your way to power and use your.. Assets..”

 

What he couldn’t see of course, was the amused grin on the captain’s face, that only grew bigger as he hummed in reply. “Oh I wouldn’t be doing all this work or miss any beauty sleep if that was how it worked. If only it were that easy though.”

 

Daichi huffed frustrated and walked towards him. “How can you expect anyone to properly respect you as a captain if you keep walking around like that?”

 

The captain placed a hand on his hip again humming. “They respect me plenty fine, Daichi. The only one who seems to have issues with it, is you. But did it cross your mind, that the only problem here, is the fact that those other sweet guys are starring-“

 

Now standing next to him, Daichi growled by those words. So the captain neutrally continued. “And that I’m flirting with them-“

 

Another growl.

 

“And that you aren’t allowed to touch it either.”

 

This time not a single sound came from the man, and Eiki finally looked up at him with a devil’s smirk on his lips and piercing eyes. “I got you now, don’t I? You know, Sora was exactly the same after a few months when he got here. I might be a virgin, but this isn’t my first dance with your type.”

 

Daichi was about to explode at him for even daring at accusing for being interested in him, but also comparing him to a bigmouthed brat like Sora. But instead his brow raised and all that came out of his mouth was. “You’re a virgin?”

 

And of course the Eiki just had to look up at him with those kitten eyes, while tilting his head with that annoyingly sweet smile. “Hmm, yup. I might fool around a bit and flirt here and there. But I am. Sadly the world ended before I felt like taking up a lover, and now I’m a very, very busy captain that barely has time to sleep.”

 

Frozen on the spot Daichi just stood there starring into those black eyes. Unable to talk even. The captain’s face now changed to a curious look. “Alright.. You might be hit harder than I thought. At least Sora was able to pick up on my flirts.”

 

“Wha.. What?”

 

“I’m a virgin, but I’m not a monk, Daichi. Both Sora and Youta can vote for that. And Ren.. And Hiro, but only a little bit!”

 

“Are you fucking serious?!”

 

At this question the captain tilted his head once again. “Yes. I get lonely sometimes too, you know. And very frustrated. Don’t act like I committed a crime here, I only made out with them. Maybe there was a handjob here and there.. Or a blowjob. But I was never the receiver, and I am still a virgin.”

 

“With Sora too?!”

 

“Oh, so that was the crime, huh?”

 

“WHY?!”

 

“Because he’s very sweet, pretty attractive and I trust him? And once I got it into his thick skull that I am not interested in a real relationship, his possessiveness died down and now he’s a good friend of mine. Which you’ll have to live with.”

 

“… BUT WHY?!”

 

“Stop yelling, Daichi. Otherwise we’ll have people running in here.”

 

“Possessiveness died down my ass, that jerk has gotten his claws all over you dammit! He’s literally just tripping around waiting for the opportunity if you change your mind, and when you do he might ju-“ Interrupted by the captain who suddenly walked towards the door with a map as if he heard nothing, he was about to explode at the boy again. “Where the hell are you going?!”

 

“To the training level, of course. Adorable as your rage is, I got stuff to do. Oh, I was also kidding by the way.” He replied starring at the map while going in the direction of the elevator, with the furious Daichi right behind him.

 

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

 

“That I was absolutely, completely, entirely and only messing around with your head. Sora is very straight despite the occasional flirting. And I merely cuddled with the other three.” He stepped inside the elevator, still looking at the map. But then he finally looked up and met Daichi’s eyes with a warm expression. “The virgin part is true though.” And with that he pushed the button to Level G.

 

Daichi starred at him in shock, and only reacted quick enough to jump in the elevator right before the doors closed, snapping at him with a hiss. “You’re the freaking devil. What did you do that for?”

 

Tilting his head and scratching his cheek, the captain shrugged. “I’m the devil? You’re the one who’s been on my ass, nagging me about whatever you could come up with for an entire week. It’s more fun to play around with you, than it is fighting with you.”  Then he laid his hand against his cheek and gave off his brightest smile. “And now that I know I can, that’s gonna be my response from now on. So if you want a fight, go have it with someone else, cause I’m bored with it.”

 

And then they just stood there, starring at each other. Eiki brightly smiling, and Daichi both dumbfounded and annoyed at the same time. But then the stubborn man finally sighed and rubbed his neck. “Fine. Point taken, I suppose I haven’t been easy on you. And I guess I’ve been taken my frustrations out on you more than I should have.”

 

The captain just shrugged and looked at the map again. “I didn’t expect anything else to happen, now that we’re being honest.”

 

“.. You didn’t?”

 

“Nope. It’s a difficult time for you right now, with Amy I mean. And you have nothing else here yet to keep your mind busy. So how about we start your training now?”

 

“So soon? Didn’t see that coming.. I thought it would be at least a couple of more months.”

 

“I said traning. That does not mean you’ll be in any of tomorrows raids. But it should keep you busy enough to keep you from picking fights with me. And since you gave a show of what you can do last week with Sora, I managed to plan your program already.”

 

Daichi pouted and shook his head. “Please don’t remind me of that. I got my ass kicked, that was bad enough. The guy even has a wounded leg..”

 

“You won’t be able to kick his butt anytime soon. I trained Sora myself, and he’s a commander for a reason. Though you didn’t see much of why the last time you saw him fight of course. Since you shot him and all.”

 

“Right.. About that..”

 

Now the captain looked up at him raising a brow. “.. What is it? If you got something on your mind, then just say it, Daichi.” The man just stood there in silence for bit, but the captain could see something bugged him. So he gave him a gentle elbow in the side. “Well?”

 

“Nh.. Well the doc said he probably won’t be able to use his leg as before, for a long time.”

 

“And?”

 

“Well.. That’s my fault, so..”

 

“Are you expecting some sort of punishment or something?”

 

“Wouldn’t that be normal?”

 

The captain frowned before he started to laugh heartedly. “Aaah Daichi, Daichi..”

 

“What the hell is so funny about that?”

 

This made the captain stop his laugh right on the spot, and stare at him with seriousness written all over his face. “You’re right. I’ll have Sora shoot you in the leg right away.”

 

Daichi slapped himself on the forehead and sighed. “That.. Was not what I meant. I wounded him pretty badly, it’s just weird that nobody batches an eye.”

 

“Sora is a big boy. He knows everything above ground is a risk. I don’t do punishment for things like that, you should know that by now. I might have been angry in the moment it happened, but that was then. And if Sora isn’t holding it against you, what are you worried about?”

 

“Well that’s just it, he SHOULD be holding it against me. Shouldn’t he?”

 

The captain shrugged and stepped out of the elevator when the doors opened, revealing a floor of the base that Daichi hadn’t seen yet. “Here’s an idea.. How about stop fighting him as well, and have a chat with him about it. Who knows, maybe you’d actually end up as friends.”

 

The floor was literally one big hall at the size of a football field. Except one single room, that contained muscle-building training equipment, placed right to their left as they left the elevator. At the very back of the hall, there was a climbing wall, and equipment for gymnastics. Beams, parallel, horizontal and uneven bars, a vault, floors and what else a gymnast could wish for. All around along the walls there was running path big enough for two people to run side by side. And of course, then there was the wall filled with training weapons of all sorts. Nothing to shoot with, of course, and they were all made of wood, so he figured they had different area for that sort. Only the muscle training room had decent lighting. But beside that room, the lights were dimmed so badly it caused him to rub his eyes. “Yeah, I don’t know about that.. Why is the light this way? It’s annoying. Don’t you wanna be able to see when you guys train?”

 

“Why?”

 

“Uh.. So you can see what you’re doing?”

 

The captain looked at him with weird face, but then shook his head. “No. What kind of good would that do, when we’re most likely to fight the nightwalkers in the dark?”

 

“.. Erh.. Well-”

 

The captain raised a hand to silence him and shook his head, as he started to move towards the gymnastics area. “The purpose is to train our people to fight under all circumstances, Daichi. As we’re most likely to fight in the dark, we train in the dark. You’ll be able to do whatever you can do in the dark, in the light as well. When we’re done with you that is.”

 

“We?”

 

“Youta, Sora and myself. Midori will be involved as well, and probably someone else depending on how busy we are. Youta will be the first one to enjoy your company, as both Sora and I will be going out on a raid tomorrow. I’ll be taking over when we’re back.”

 

“Why not just one single person? I mean.. There’s no need for you guys to be all over me.”

 

“Of course there’s a reason. Youta will train with you, since he’s a tank and my vice, and can handle you. I’ll do the DD training, and Sora’s job is to see whether or not you’d be a fit for a commander at some point. We got plenty raiders, but not that many commanders, and I don’t usually make big raids as the one that came to your rescue. That was made out of new circumstances.”

 

Daichi looked around as his eyes became more used to the poor light, studying the people who were already so deep in their training that their presence didn’t seem to disturb them even the slightest. “Tank and DD’s? Creative.. So.. You just sat around playing games all day before the world ended, and thought doing that to fight nightwalkers would be a good idea.”

 

“No. Youta came up with the names. Games were never really my thing. But the titles fit, so we went along with it. We’ll explain how it’s done today, since you’re all new to it. Looking at you I’d say tank would be a fit for you, but we’ll see as we go along. If Youta says no good, then it’s no good. Oh, Ren will join you while Sora and I are gone. Most DD’s will be on the raids, but he wanted more time with Julian, so in exchange for that he’ll be your DD during training.”

 

“Great.. Can’t wait.”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

“He’s.. Weird. He creeps me out a bit.”

 

“Good heavens, you must be fun at parties. Is there anyone on this base you actually like so far?”

 

“Amy.”

 

“Daichi..”

 

“….”

 

The captain place a good punch to the man’s shoulder in silence, but then walked over to Youta who was standing supervising Ren on the beam. “Youta.”

 

The vice turned his head towards them and nodded in greeting. “Captain. And Daichi, I see. Finally ready to begin the training I’m guessing.”

 

“After starring at my butt for 20 minutes, just to complain about my shorts, I decided yes. He is very ready.”

 

The vice chuckled and looked at Daichi with a smirk. “Ouch.. Never trash-talk our captains fashion sense. Even if you don’t like it, don’t ruin it for the rest of us.”

 

“Are you hearing this? Eiki! EIKI!”

 

But no, he wasn’t. And he didn’t care much about the yelling either, as he was busy looking at Ren attempting at a backflip jump on the beam that seem to be nothing but failing for him. He shook his head and stepped closer to the beam. “You’re bending the wrong leg, Ren. Try again, and bend the left one this time, not the right.”

 

Another chuckle was heard from the vice as the captain simply ignored Daichi who were anything but pleased. “You might as well give up, Daichi. There’s a reason for the clothes, but we’ll discuss that later. I want to go over your program first.”

 

“EIKI!” Daichi weren’t exactly listening to the vice, he was too busy trying to get the attention of the captain, that still kept ignoring him.

 

“Bend your leg a little bit more, Ren.. That’s it, you got it now.”

 

“EI-“ Now Youta had it with the stubborn man, and cut him off in the middle of his yelling with a hard smack to the back of his head. “Ow!”

 

“Come with me, you idiot. I think I need to give you the same walkthrough I gave Michi.” He didn’t wait for any reply though, before he literally dragged Daichi away with him, to the area where other fighters were training combat. Eiki looked shortly towards them as they walked away with a relieved sigh.

 

“Is he causing you troubles, captain?” Ren asked joyfully as he prepared for another jump.

 

“Hm.. No. He’s just.. A mouthful. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with him. I don’t think he’s ready for anything, before Amy opens her mouth to him, but I don’t have time to play his little punching bag anymore.”

 

“So now it’s our turn to take over. I see.”

 

Still looking towards Daichi’s figure in the other end of the hall, he shrugged and sighed again, but more heavily. Ren made his jump, but before the captain could register it happening, Ren shrieked, and he suddenly got slammed down to the ground with a force pushed all the air of him.

 

Both of them interrupted by the sounds of slams to the ground and shrieks, Youta and Daichi stood there starring at towards the figures that laid on the ground, moving like to fishes trapped on land. “Oh my.” Youta chuckled mildly.

 

“DAMMIT REN, WRONG LEG!” They heard the captain scream in a high pitch voice, but Ren just sat there on the back of the captain in deep awe starring up at the ceiling. “What do you mean you were bending the right leg, if you did, I wouldn’t be on the damn floor!”

 

“… You people are weird.” Daichi mumbled as if he’d just giving up on life altogether.

 

“Oh. Why is that?”

 

“The world ended, and you’re all acting like everything is normal.”

 

“It is normal. The new normal. There’s no use in trying to hold on to the old, to such an extent that you can’t adjust to what currently is. You still don’t have much faith in our captain?”

 

“That would be a pretty big nope. Nothing personal, he’s just.. Erh..”

 

“That’s alright. If you can’t have faith in him as a captain yet, then have it in him as a friend, Daichi.”

 

“Friend? I don’t know if I would call him that.”

 

“Oh, but you should. He’s everybody’s friend.”

 

Daichi raised a brow and looked at Youta with a grunt. “So he’s a social butterfly that’s just naturally friends with every person he meets?”

 

“No, far from it. He’s actually quite the loner. But anyone here on this base can depend on him for pretty much anything. Whether is to risk his own life for the sake of theirs, of if it is more personal needs that has to be met. He might think he doesn’t have friends, but every single soul here think of him as one. And he’ll do the same for you, and your niece.”

 

“.. Is that so?”

 

Youta studied him a bit and then crossed his arms over his chest. “Hasn’t he been letting you take you anger out on him for the past week? And how exactly do you think Amy got the courage to join the other kids. She went from completely broken, to alright this past month, and you thought that happened how exactly, magic?” Then he pointed at the surprised Daichi and lowered his voice firmly. “I’ll have you know, that the captain has been working intensely with Amy and the other kids for the past month. And through this past week, he’s been dealing with your childlike attitude, Amy’s transfer to the children’s dormitory, which included repeated night-visits as well. Her nightmares didn’t stop all a sudden. As he’s the only one that girl actually talks to, he thought it might be better for your sanity if he dealt with her, instead of having you freak out every single night, waking the whole damn floor up.”

 

Dropping his jaw due to the questions and the firm tone, Daichi cleared his throat and shook his head. “Well, no. But Amy doesn’t tell me anything. I just assumed she.. I don’t know?” He placed his hands on his hips and looked at the vice with a hard stare. “Hey don’t go judging me, old man. How am I supposed know, when nobody tells me any damn thing!”

 

“Hold on, mate. I do believe we’re around the same age”

 

“Oh yeah? You got more wrinkles than I do.”

 

Youta just laughed amused and patted him on the back. “Now you’re just being rude. Since we got that straightened out, could you please just focus on the training. I’d like to be done before dinner.”

 

Daichi sighed and turned his eyes towards the scene in front of him. Studying the fighting tanks and DD couples as instructed, but not really paying any attention. About then minutes went on like this, before he finally opened his mouth again. “He really did all that?”

 

Youta nodded and smirked secretly. It was about damn time that the guy seemed to be opening up. “He sure did. Haven’t been easy on him either. Both handling you, and dealing with whatever Amy puts on him, pressures him a lot.”

 

“Has.. Has he told you anything? What she told him, I mean.. Or. Well anything at all?”

 

“Heavens no. Whatever goes on between those two, it’s between the two of them. The only one he discuss it with is Midori, and that’s only for medical reasons I believe.”

 

Daichi nodded slowly, still focusing his look on the fighting couples. “… When does he sleep?”

 

“Good question. I’m amazed he hasn’t dropped dead yet. But that’s our captain, for you. He’d rather die then turn his back to others in need.”

 

“He’s carrying too much on his own. That’s.. I don’t know if I’m impressed or if I wanna punch him.”

 

“That’s why he’s going on the raid tomorrow, I think. He wasn’t originally planned to, but he changed it yesterday.”

 

Daichi sighed heavily, feeling a growing guilt filling up his stomach. Stopping his hands in his pockets, he closed his eyes for a second. “I’m a real jerk, aren’t I. God dammit.”

 

“To the core, my oblivious friend.”

 

After that, none of them spoke for the rest of the time. At least not about that topic. But in his mind, Daichi was far more focused on figuring out what to do about the new realization around Amy, and more importantly, figuring out how the hell he was supposed to face the captain. Not that it was a problem right now, since the captain had left the training level, leaving Ren with the map and Youta, and he wouldn’t be seeing anymore to him before dinner. Or so he guessed at least.


	9. Chapter 9

But Daichi didn't see the captain at all during the rest of the day, not even during dinner. And now, an hour or so after midnight, he laid restless in his bed and reconsidered the whole ordeal about the base, how things had turned out, and of course, about the captain. That suspiciousness he had had this entire time, was replaced by confusion and guilt. Why would the boy go to so far, just for their sake?

He barely even knew them, so for him to take everything upon himself just didn’t make any sense in Daichi’s mind. Especially when he had been, so busy pushing him away with the constant and rather dumb fights. Most people, if not all, he knew wouldn’t have put up with it in the long run. What baffled him the most was the fact he hadn’t noticed how hard it had been on the boy, which Youta apparently had noticed. But now the change of the next raid also made sense. Not knowing what was going on, he didn’t understand why the captain suddenly had decided to go on a raid, but hadn’t questioned it as he figured they might just have been short on raiders. But thinking back on it now, that reasoning didn’t even make sense anymore. It made perfect sense that the captain instead had chosen to go away for a day to breathe. Even if that day of breath involved the nightwalkers and everything else that went on up above ground. Every time he had seen the captain on the base, he was always working on something. He didn’t always know what, but one thing was for sure. If that guy took any time to take care of himself, it wasn’t much. And that thought of course only made that guilt he felt grow even bigger. Especially since he had spent the week practically criticizing just about any goddamn thing about the captain or his work that he could possibly come up with.

 

He rubbed his forehead to ease his building headache and grunted annoyed. But then his attention got caught by the sound of running footsteps. They belonged to a child, after what he could hear. When they reach the end of the corridor, he heard a hard knocking on a door, that was soon followed by a door opening and some words he couldn’t make out what were. The kid sounded panicked by the tone, and he guessed whoever the kid had woken up, was trying to make him calm down, so he wouldn’t wake the whole floor. Suddenly a loud scream was heard and he sat up in the bed as he immediately recognized it. That was without a doubt Amy, woken up with a panic attack after a nightmare. The sound of the steps of the adult following the child back to the dormitory sounded, and he got out of his bed, deciding to see for himself. He went out of his room silently and walked to the room he could hear voices from. And sure enough, when he got to the door, he saw Amy kicking, screaming and crying her eyes out in her bed while some of the older kids tried their best to keep her from harming herself, and the captain walking calmly towards her. Daichi had to fight the urge to run to her, but he stood silently leaned up against the wall, peeking in exactly enough to watch. When the captain reached her, he told the other kids to go back to their bed, as he caught the girl in a tight embrace and sat on the bed with her. The kids seemed to hesitate and wanted to help, but did as told.

“I know you want to help her, but you need to give us a little space till she has calmed down guys.” The captain turned his eyes towards the still fighting girl, and held her in a better grip so she wouldn’t slip out of his embrace by accident and fall to the floor. “Amy, sweetie. It’s me, Eiki. Can you hear me?” The embrace was firm but gentle. He started to soothingly stroke her cheek, rocking from side to side, while lowered his voice to an ever so gentle tone. “You’re safe, Amy. I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere. Neither are you. No one is gonna hurt you. Do you hear me, love?”

 

“Please, please, no! Let go of me! Leave me alone!” She screamed from the top of her lungs and kicked of all of her might to get free, all while there weren’t any control in her heavy crying, and you could hear how strained her voice were already.

 

“That’s never gonna happen either. I won’t let you deal with this alone, Amy. Come on now, listen to my voice. Do you remember me?”

 

“.. E.. Eik..”

 

“Yeah, that’s close enough. Come back to me, love..”

 

Amy’s body started to relax slowly, weighing heavier and heavier in the captains arms, but he didn’t let her go, and her crying and sobbing only grew louder as she realized where she were.  “I thought.. I.. Was so scared..”

 

The captain held her tighter in his arms as she rested her head against his shoulder, hiding her face against his neck, feeling her take in that smell she had come to recognize as safety. “I know, sweetie..” He whispered with a tired smile. “But you got nothing to fear now. I’m here and you’re alright.”

 

Daichi couldn’t wrap his head around what he was seeing right before his very own eyes. Just how quickly the captain had seemed to reach into her, or how she was clinging so tightly to somebody who wasn’t him. And the sight of it both took his breath away, and caused a pain to evolve in his chest. How messed up it all was. How he couldn’t take care of his niece the way she needed it. But how could he, he was there, but he didn’t stop whatever caused her this much pain. She probably connected him to what had happened somehow, and he didn’t blame her. And how messed up was it, that the very same person who had fought and risked his life to save them from the mall, was still fighting and probably risking his sanity, just to save theirs. He kept watching them for a little while longer, but walked a few steps away as the girl’s crying finally died down and the captain got her back in her bed tucking her in.

 

“Sleep some more, Amy. And remember, my room is just down the corridor. Don’t hesitate to come if you get scared, alright?”

 

The girl nodded silently with a few tears still dripping from her eyes, and Eiki placed a kiss on her forehead. “You’re not alone.. Not in this room, or anywhere else. We’re all here for you.”

 

She offered him a small smile, and he answered it lovingly. Her uncle might be causing his hair to fall out, but he sure had come to adore her. He had no idea who she used to be, but he didn’t really care. All he knew, was that he had fallen, and fallen hard for the girl in front of him. Possibly because she was much like himself.

 

“I’ll.. Be fine now.. Sorry..” She mumbled with a low raspy voice.

 

He tilted his head a bit. “Hm..”Understanding she just needed her space now, he stroked her cheek and got up, shaking his head. “Never be sorry, for what isn’t your fault, love. You have every right to react and feel how you need to, after what you’ve been through. ” He walked towards the door, but stopped as he reached the it and sent her an exhausted smile, before turning off the lights again. “Every little thing you go through in your life makes you that beautiful pie that you are. Sometimes the ingredients are bitter, and the pie might get burned.. But it doesn’t mean it tastes any less sweet, or make it any less good.”

 

“.. Thank you..” She whispered and hid under the blanket. He nodded to the other kids and grabbed the door to close it. “Sweet dreams, everybody.” A mix of goodnights and sweet dreams were heard from the children as he closed the door and took a deep breath. He rubbed his neck and started to move back towards his own room, just to bump into the chest of Daichi who starred intensely at him. “Sorry, sorry. Eh.. Dai.. Chi.. Why are you not in bed?”

 

Daichi raised a brow and got nearer to take a better look at him. “I heard Amy scream. Why didn’t you tell me this was going on?”

 

“Because you needed it. But seriously, how are you up..” The captain sighed, rubbing his eye. “Could you possibly not be this close to my face. Wait, you didn’t drink your night-tea, did you?”

 

At this Daichi blinked and got even closer with narrow eyes. “No. Why, what have you been putting in my tea?”

 

“Uh.. Nothing?”

 

“You’re lying, and sucking at it.”

 

The captain sighed and started moving towards his room again. “Fine. It’s just something mild to help you get some sleep. Doctor’s orders. But I knew you’d never take it on your own, so I sneaked it into your tea instead. Sue me.”

 

“Sure, as soon as I find a lawyer. Why would you do this, Eiki. Sneaking meds in me, take over everything with Amy, when you got more than enough on your plate as it goddamn is!”

 

“Seriously, Daichi. I don’t have anything left in me to have another fight with you right now. Come back in the morning, will you.” Opening the door to his room and going in, he tried to brush the man off, but apparently Daichi wouldn’t have it as he followed him into the room and closed the door behind them.

 

“No, I won’t come back in the morning, and I’m not picking a fight either.”

 

“Then what exactly are you doing, and what do you think you doing in my room?”

 

“I.. I’m..” Smacking his own forehead, just to recall the headache from earlier leaving him damning and cursing himself, he realized he surely did sound like he was trying to pick a fight. “Give me a minute here.”

 

“… Are you alright? You’re acting weird.”

 

“I know, just give me a sec.”

 

“Uhm.. Okay.” The captain starred at the man with a frown, but gave up and sat down on his bed. After a minute or two, he patted the bed next to him. “Sit down, Daichi. It’s stressful to watch you stand.”

 

Daichi looked at him for a moment, but then sat down slowly next to him. Keeping quiet for another moment, until he finally looked at the exhausted captain again. “I’m sorry. I don’t know how else to say it, so.. I’m sorry.”

 

“… For?”

 

“.. Everything. Giving you a hard time, and all that.. All the fights.” Studying the captain nearer, he finally saw what Youta had been talking about, when saying the boy was starting to crumble. He grabbed his chin and lifted his head a bit. He looked pale. As if he hadn’t slept or eaten properly for days. “Yeah.. Nope. That’s a very big nope.”

 

“It’s.. Alright? I don’t know what to say, Daichi. I wasn’t blaming anything on you, So it’s-“ Blinking surprised by the man’s actions he froze on the spot. “What are you doing, and what is a nope?”

 

“You, you are a big nope. You are in no condition to go on any raids. Try fight me on it, I’ll have the doc take a look at you. Good god, Eiki. Does anyone around here ever take care of you, or did you plan on doing all the caring till your body finally breaks?”

 

“What? No, I’m fine. Now could you please let go, I wanna get some rest before the raid.”

 

“You’re not going on any damn raids, and I am having the doc look at you. You don’t look well at all. Stay there, I’m getting her in here right now.” He got up the very second he said those last words and walked towards the door.

 

“That’s really not necessary, I’m fine! And besides, the raid isn’t even long, it’s just for the day, and we’ll be back before midnight.. I think.”

 

“Shut up and lie down. Oh, and if you try to lock the door, think again. I’ll chop it to pieces with that scythe of yours if I have to.” And with that he left the shocked captain in the room, while he went to fetch the doctor. Not daring to anything else, the captain laid down obediently and stared at the ceiling. “…”

 

A few minutes later the man returned with the still half asleep doctor, basically dragging her into the room and pushed her towards the captain, all while she muttered annoyed over being woken for something that could have waited till the morning. “Alright, alright. So what’s going on, Captain.”

 

“Absolutely nothing, I told him I’m perfectly fine. I just need to rest a bit, but he won’t let me.”

 

“Yeah. You’re about as fine as you’re straight.” Daichi grunted and sat down on the chair by the desk, as the doctor sat down on the side of the bed and took a good look at their captain.

 

The captain just hummed and shrugged. “I could be straight. Wouldn’t know, virgin and all. But I am perfectly fine.”

 

“You’re not straight. No straight guy with any respect for himself would swing his damn ass as you do, when he walks.”

 

“Can’t argue with that one, captain.” The doctor smiled over their argument. “I will also have to agree with him, when he says you’re far from fine. You’re awfully pale, I can tell you’ve lost weight just by looking at your cheeks and you’ve gotten yourself a fever. You’re not just exhausted from lack of sleep.”

 

“I am not sick, I’m fine. Now get out, the both of you.”

 

Daichi ignored the stubborn boy’s pleading and looked at the doctor. “So no raid for him, right? I was right?”

 

“No, you’re not.” The captain mumbled, starting to get more than annoyed.

 

“Oh, but he is, captain. I’m afraid your body is finally giving into the stress you put yourself through, and I can’t ignore this time. So from now on, you’re my patient until I say otherwise. That means no raids, no work, no training and lots of bedrest.” The doctor jumped in and got up. “Run to the kitchen and fetch him something to eat and drink, Daichi.”

 

“Yes mam.” Daichi got up to obey her commands, and looked shortly at the captain before he left the room without a word.

 

“And you.” She then said and looked at the captain again. “Don’t try to outsmart me. I will inform Youta and the commanders about his. He is your vice, Eiki. You can trust him with the care of us all, while we take time to care for you. Now, I know how important your work with Amy is, so I won’t stand in your way on that one. But everything else will just have to wait, am I clear?”

 

“The nightwalkers aren’t gonna wait. And please don’t refer to Amy as work. But yes.. You’re being crystal clear. I still think you’re both overreacting and being unreasonable. And mean.” The captain pouted and sat up in the bed.

 

“With all the respect you deserve, captain, for the first time I don’t care one bit about what you think. Daichi clearly doesn’t either. So you’ll just have to bear with it.”

 

“And you both suck.”

 

“Be stubborn if you will. Now, you’re gonna eat, and after that you are going to sleep and I will see you in the morning. You really should consider therapy. I’m not saying you need it because you’re losing it, I just think it would be good for you as I can’t even imagine what sorts of things you must deal with and everybody needs to talk. I won’t lecture you.. Just think about it.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, I got the message. Just get out already, please.” The captain hissed annoyed burrowing his face in his hands. The doctor sighed a bit, but knew it was impossible to get the captain to talk if he didn’t want to. Shaking her head a bit she finally left the room mumbling to herself. He wasn’t left alone for long, as Daichi soon returned with a bottle of water, some bread and a bag of beef jerky. The captains position hadn’t changed though, and the sight made Daichi frown silently. He didn’t comment it though, and simply dumped the food in front of the captain, before he sat down on the chair again. This made the captain look up with annoyed look. “What are you doing..?”

 

“Sitting here till I’ve made sure you’ve eaten.”

 

“I don’t need a supervisor. I’m a big boy. And I don’t need to deal with this right now, so could you please just go.”

 

“That would be another big nope.”

 

“I’m one big nope, I get it. Get out.”

Daichi didn’t reply and just leaned back on the chair with a firm look on his face. Starting to get angry, the captain grabbed the bag of jerky and ripped it open. The taste of it made him wanna throw up though, as soon it hit his tounge, which made it really hard for him to swallow it. Not because it bad or anything, but because he had neglected the need to eat for a little too long, he silently argued with himself. Alright, so he might have been forgetting to eat a little more than he should, but he still thought the two of them was reacting to absolutely nothing, and having Daichi sit there starring while he ate just made the blood boil in him, but he kept it to himself. He couldn’t afford to lose his temper right now, and besides, it probably only got on his nerves because he was tired. Daichi just sat there watching him while he ate. There was still so many things he wanted to say, but he didn’t think it was the right time for it now.  Pushing the captain any further right at this moment didn’t sound like the smartest idea.

He didn’t leave after the captain had finished eating. And after arguing about him not going anywhere before he was sure the captain was asleep for another 20 minutes, the captain finally passed out. He stayed there watching and without moving a muscles for another hour or so, just to make sure he really was asleep, before he decided to leave the room and go back to his own. Now annoyed how his attempt on apologizing had turn out to make them argue even more.


	10. Chapter 10

Sadly, the following week didn’t hold any less arguments, as they pretty much had another one every time Daichi went to check on him. He didn’t even know how they started most of the time. It was like the urge to bite back at the captain every time snapped out of frustration over the constant supervisions, was stronger than the will to pay him back and show him the same care the captain had shown him, not to mention Amy, whom the captain still put everything aside for. Somehow he just always ended up leaving the captain’s room cursing and swearing. And that was also exactly the scene that met Youta this day, and had him sigh as if he’d given up on everything. He didn’t say a word to Daichi as he stormed right past him though, instead he walked to the captain’s room and went straight in, even without knocking first. Which was probably a bad idea, as the captain snapped the moment he closed the door. “What do you want now, Daichi? I told you to get the hell out!”

 

“And he sure did. Rather quick I might add.”

 

“.. Youta. Sorry, I.. Good heavens.” The captain sighed and dumped down on his bed, wishing he could dig a whole to crawl in instead.

 

“Good evening, captain. How are we doing today?”

 

“Peachy. Having the time of my life.”

 

“You do look a lot better already. Daichi must be taking very good care of you.” The vice chuckled and patted him on the head, before sitting down next to him.

 

“He’s gonna be the death of me. Dealing with the nightwalkers is a piece of cake compared to dealing with him.”

 

“And why is that, if you don’t mind me asking?”

 

The captain starred up at him with an unpleased look, before pushing him down on the bed. “Because he’s all over me. The guy refuses to leave me alone for more than an hour, and it’s driving me crazy. I’m bored, and you all suck for making me do this. I need to get out there.”

Youta just let him do as he pleased, and laid down obediently, spreading out an arm as acceptance to the captains wish, who quickly laid down at his side before cuddling up to him. “I think you’re being too hard on the guy, captain.”

 

“I never asked him to do any of this. I never asked for any of this.”

 

“Hm, I know you didn’t.” The vice replied and stroked his fingers through the younger’s hair. “But I don’t think it’s bad, that he’s giving you what you need, instead of what you want. In this case at least. Is it really so bad to have someone care for you for once?”

 

The captain closed his eyes, slowly relaxing under the caressing from the other. “He’s just doing this because it’s the normal thing to do, Youta. You’re reading too much into it.”

 

“I think you read too little into it. But since you know this is a normal thing to do, it also sounds like you already know, that you’re being too hard on him.”

 

“… Yeah. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

 

“He’s only trying to thank you, you know.”

 

“A simply thanks would have been enough if that’s the case. Why though?”

 

“A mastermind like yourself, can’t figure that out?” The vice smiled before closing his own eyes. “Maybe you should ask him yourself.”

 

The captain took a deep breath and snuggled closer to the others warmth. “I think you should just tell me.”

 

“Nah. The two of you need to do less yelling, and more talking to each other instead.”

 

“… And I think we should drop this topic, and have you tell me how everything is doing instead.”

 

A mild laughter was heard from the older, before he put an arm around the other and held him closer. “As you wish. Everything is fine. It’s only been a week, you know. I might have my flaws in a captain’s role, but I don’t screw up often enough to leave everything crashing and burning  in such a short time.  

 

“.. I sort of wish you did. It feels weird just being in here all day, knowing everything is fine. That you’re all fine without me.. Like I could disappear one day, and it wouldn’t matter.”

 

This made the older look at him, with a frown and a tap on his forehead. “Foolish thoughts, get rid of them. We’re not fine without our captain, and everything would most certainly change if he disappeared on us. Why do you think we locked you up in here in the first place?”

 

The younger smiled shortly at this and shook his head, resting it against the older’s shoulder. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m grateful too.. It’s good to know we’ve come so far, that you’ll be alright, even if something does happen to me. It’s a good thing.”

 

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. We’ve been fine for a week without any major issues, but that doesn’t mean we’ll be fine after a longer period of time. I honestly don’t know how you deal with all of it. But I think it has been healthy for the people to realize how much you actually do around here. That reminds me..” He reached down to his pocket and pulled out a bag of lollipops from it, which he gave to the captain who had a curious look on his face.

 

“What’s this?” He asked, accepting the bag and studying it.

 

“It’s a gift from the kitchen. They told me to bring it to you, as the raiders didn’t come back with half of the stuff they asked for.”

 

“They didn’t find it? Are we running out of supplies from the city already?”

 

“Not exactly. I forgot to hand them the list.. So I had to send another team out.”

 

“Youta.. You can’t forget things like that, otherwise we’ll end up with too many raiders who’s too tired to go out at the same time, and we could run out of food. We have an awful lot of mouths to feed.”

 

“Same thing happened with the list from Midori.”

 

“That’s even worse. How are we supposed to treat wounded raiders without meds or the right supplies?”

 

“See. I told you we need you.”

 

The captain sighed, but most of the relaxation that was seconds from causing him to fall asleep. “You’re an idiot. A big bald one..”

 

The vice didn’t respond, other than with a warm humming. And it didn’t take much more than a minute, before the captain’s breathing switched over to a rhythm that older appreciated the sound of. He didn’t dare to move much either, except for the continues caressing of the younger’s hair.  There was no need for him to leave anytime soon, and he knew it was a rare thing for the captain to allow himself that kind of closeness, so it must have been something he really needed. Maybe being on forced lock down made the younger feel more lonely and useless, than was good for him in the long run, no matter how much he needed to deal with the obvious stress he was suffering from. And with that thought, the vice slowly drifted off in sleep himself. Not intentionally, but who could have been able to help it, starring at the captain’s rare peaceful sleeping face.

 

3 hours later however, the odd feeling of being watched with a glare that could cause instant death, if eyes hold such powers waked him. “… Wanna take my place, Daichi?”

 

The man sat on the chair, once again, watching them intensely.  “…”

 

Youta rubbed his eyes with a smirk. “Relax. I didn’t touch him in any other ways than what you’re looking at.”

 

“That’s not what I’m worried about. Though I would have been more worried, than pissed if you had done.. That.. This is not normal, is it?”

 

“You’re a bad liar. But, you’re right. It isn’t. I don’t remember the last time he demanded such a service from me.”

 

Daichi starred at him with the death-glare again and grunted. “Please don’t make it sound like something perverted.”

“Aha.. You sure you don’t wanna switch places, my oblivious friend?”

 

“Stop calling me that. I’m not as oblivious as you make me.”

 

“Oh, I know. I just like the face you make.” The vice yawned and snaked his way out of the captains grip, causing the youngest in the room to give off a displeased sound, now that the other body heat suddenly disappeared.

 

“What are you doing, you’re going to wake him up.” Daichi asked in both protest and relief.

 

“Making room for you, obviously. I am not going to cross paths with that protectiveness you got going on. I will however advise you to get it under control. It’ll only mess things up if you let it get in the captain’s way in public.” He nodded towards the captain and stretched his back. “Well go on, get there before he wakes up.”

 

He hesitated, but didn’t need to be told twice the second the captain started to move around in the bed looking for the one who’d just left him. Carefully he crawled onto the bed and in the spot the vice had just left, and it didn’t take the captain long before he had wrapped himself around Daichi reclaiming the closeness that had left him. Daichi sighed halfheartedly and wrapped an arm around the smaller body. Then he looked up towards Youta with an uncertain look. “What do you mean by that? I can’t see how protecting him can go in his way. He deserves to have people look out for him.”

 

“Oh yes, he sure does. But too much protection can harm him as well, Daichi. Very easily in fact.” Youta nodded slowly and sat down on the chair. “I’m sure you remember your own words and view on him when you first met. He’s little, weak-looking, young and not your usual captain-material. But despite these things, he’s tough and he doesn’t need any protection. And the people needs to keep seeing him like that. Do you get what I’m saying?”

 

After considering it for a moment, Daichi nodded and turned his looks towards the sleeping. “.. Yeah..”

 

“What is worrying you?”

 

Brushing some hair of the captain’s face, Daichi just shrugged with the free shoulder. “I don’t know. Somehow I’m just doubting this bedrest thing is actually good for him. I think it might just be making his stress worse instead.. Maybe I shouldn’t have stuck my nose in it.”

 

“I don’t think that’s true. I think it was exactly what he needed, but I also do agree that enough is enough. So maybe we can release our grip on him, before we drive him completely insane.”

 

“It’s only been a week.. The doc said he needed at least a couple more..”

 

“He’s been on the frontlines, fighting to build up everything you see around you since the day hell went loose, Daichi. You shouldn’t strangle a fighting soul like that, when every inch of him won’t find any peace before the war is won. You don’t need to lock him up to help him. Set him free and help him care better for himself instead. And stop your endless fighting with him.”

 

“I know, I know. Fine.. I’ll talk to the doc about it then..”

 

“It wouldn’t matter even if you didn’t. I also have the captain as priority, so I’ll take that argument with her myself in the morning. It pleases me that someone shows such care for him, but as I said. Enough is enough. I’m not asking for permission.” The vice yawned again and closed his eyes. “Now if you’ll excuse me. Gotta catch some more sleep. You should do the same.”

 

“I can’t sleep here, he’ll rip me to pieces when he wakes up!”

 

“He’ll rip you to pieces if you don’t keep your voice down.  Keep your hands in decent places and you’ll be fine, it’s not as if I’m going anywhere. Except to sleep, so hush, teddy bears don’t speak.”

 

Daichi clearly wanted to throw a punch at the guy, but he didn’t dare moving, nor did he say anymore. So the vice fell back to sleep right there on the chair, leaving Daichi the only one awake. It was not because laying like this with the youngest in the room bothered him, otherwise he wouldn’t have jump into the spot, just by the sound of the captain displeased noises and movements. He knew that. His muscles tensed up a bit as he felt the captain’s hand brush over his chest, just to take his tank top in a tight grip. Daichi sighed silently and tucked the smaller body better in the blanket. After a long while, he started to feel the tiredness creep up on him, but stubbornly kept fighting it. He kept rubbing his face with his free hand every time he felt his eyes closing on him. But froze as he was about to do it again, when a small voice disturbed him.

 

“I swear to all that is good, that I’ll cut your hand off if you don’t lay still, Daichi. Sleep if you’re tired.”

 

“Erh.. I.. You’re not mad?”

 

Eiki looked up at him with a face that didn’t hold much expression other than him being sleepy. “Trust me, I’d have kicked you out of my bed the moment you tried to get in it, if I actually trusted you too little for this.” He let a small yawn escape him and cuddled closer, resting his head on the man’s shoulder again. “And this is the nicest time we’ve spent together since you got here, so don’t ruin it.”

 

“.. It is.” Daichi relaxed a bit more and let out a breath he had been holding, squishing the younger tighter to himself without even realizing it. “So you noticed, huh? I thought you were asleep.”

 

“I was.. But your smell is different. And it cuddling with you doesn’t feel the same as when I cuddle with Youta.”

 

“I bathed yesterday, and I didn’t know I’m a horrible cuddler. Amy doesn’t complain.”

 

“I’m not complaining? It just feels different, is all.. And I didn’t mean that you smelled bad either. You smell kind of.. Nice..”

 

“Oh.. Alright then.. I guess.”

 

“Mhm.. You should sleep. If you don’t, I’ll find another way to sneak those sleeping pills into you again.”

 

The older smirked a shortly and brushed his fingertips over the younger’s shoulder. “Good luck with that. I’m onto you now, remember? You won’t fool me twice.”

 

The captain chuckled mildly and let the man do as he pleased. For now at least. It was limited what could happen anyways, with Youta right to their side on the chair. “Yeah, is that a challenge?”

 

“It can’t be a challenge, when I tell you it’s not gonna happen.”

 

“Oh, Daichi.. That’s adorable.”

 

“Hm-hm.” He just silently laughed in reply. He closed his eyes and massaged his fingertips gently against the younger’s scalp, when appeared the other seemed to enjoy the touch. “.. I wanted to thank you.”

 

The captain couldn’t help but close his own eyes at the feeling of the gentle caressing from the other. “I haven’t done you any favors.”

 

Not caring about his words, Daichi continued as he decided he wouldn’t let anything get in the way of it this time. “For everything you do for Amy. She’s my world, Eiki. Let me thank you for caring so much for her.”

 

“… You knew?”

 

“Yes. The night you caught me being up. Youta told me a bit, but I didn’t know that.. You.. You know what I mean.. You’re being her rock when I can’t, and I should be. You’re doing and being everything I can’t.. It feels horrible just to let you handle everything with her, when she should be able to lean on me. I want to do what you do, and know everything you know. I want.. I want her to talk to me but.. If she can’t then.. Then I’m at least glad she got you. And that you really care, she needs that. So thank you.”

 

At this confession the captain moved his head a bit just to stare at him as he spoke, with every word of it hitting him like bricks. “I had no idea you felt that way.. I don’t really know what to say. I just..” He bit his lip and looked away again. “We shouldn’t be talking about it. Keeping my mouth shut is hard enough as it is.. I’m sorry I kept it a secret, but I had to consider your state too. And I just didn’t think you would have been able to handle it. I have a hard time handling it.. I’m sorry bout lashing out on you lately, but being captured like this and having you constantly around me is just making it so much more difficult to keep silent.”

 

“.. Then don’t, and tell me. It’s not fair that you have to carry this alone. Talk to me, at least for your own sake.”

 

“I can’t, Daichi.”

 

“Eiki, you can. I can handle any secret you have. Especially if it’s for your own good. This stress of yours isn’t cause by overworking, is it.” He asked firmly without it being a real question. “This is too heavy for you to carry alone. You love her. And that’s not a bad thing, but it means you get just as hurt as I do. So talk.”

 

“…” The captain wanted to get angry at him and tell him to leave it. Instead he just lowered his eyes and considered it silently. He knew Daichi had his rights to know everything he knew. As Amy was still but a child, and Daichi being her only adult living family member, he was considered as being her guardian. But he wasn’t a doctor, nor was he a therapist of any sort. He was just a captain, calling the shots on the battlefield and on the base. But other than that, what right did he have to ignore the trust the girl had given him, when she made him promise not to tell her uncle. He didn’t want to. No, he couldn’t bring himself to do such thing to the girl, when she had learned finally to trust him, no matter how difficult it then might be to face her uncle as if he knew nothing.  Heavily sighing over the mess he had gotten himself into, also silently cursing how it felt like both Amy and Daichi had him captured in a corner without any chances of escape. He lowered his voice just enough for Youta not to hear a thing, in case he was faking his sleep or woke up. “What do you think happened, Daichi?”

 

Daichi didn’t answer the first couple of minutes. But then he shook his head lightly and wet his lips, lowering his voice as well. “I don’t know.. I knew they all got treated horribly. I told you, they kept me locked up in closet whenever I had served whatever purpose I had for them that day. All I could do was listening to their cries and.. Begging for them to stop. I saw their new bruises every now and then but.. They had security and the group and got fed so I chose to block it out to keep my sanity intact. They would have killed me if I had tried to help them.. Or worse, punished them even further. I just.. and then one day the begging and cries just.. Stopped..” He closed his eyes at the memory and squeezed the younger tighter. The captain did or said nothing. He simply laid there listening to the man’s words, feeling them as if they were razorblades cutting through his skin. Daichi kept silent for a while before he continued. “But Amy.. I just..”

 

He didn’t seem to be able to finish whatever he was trying to say. All traces of emotions had left the captain’s face, as he starred into the wall next to them. He was so bad at this. He felt all the pain, all the hatred and anger. But when it came to actually react to these emotions and express the distress in ways most normal people do, he grew cold instead and acted out as if he didn’t possess any capabilities of feeling at all. He knew he’ll end up regretting what he was going to say next. Both because it’d make him break the promise he had made to the girl, but also because he knew the words would come out wrong, as they always did whenever he had to break bad news. And Daichi would hate him for a while, just like Michi had when he told him about Jim. No matter what he did, that was just always the way it always ended up. But being the bringer of bad news never scared him as much as it did right now. Somehow the thought of Daichi hating him, terrified him. Everything about this situation made him fear the outcome of his words, more than he ever feared anything before. But it couldn’t be helped. After another long moment where he tried his hardest to find the right words, he resistant opened his mouth. “She was the only girl in a very big group of boys and men. Had she not been there, I don’t doubt more would’ve happened to the boys as well and they probably did use them as their fuck-toys before you two joined them, but.. Why settle with the next best, when you do have something better around to play with..” He didn’t dare look up at the man. He just kept starring into the same spot on the wall with the same emotionless expression. ”All the beatings you heard, were the result of the other kids trying to help her. I’m guessing the day you heard it stop, was the day none of them had any will left to fight anymore. She doesn’t talk to you, because she’s scared of you. She knows you won’t harm her and she’s trying hard not to blame you, but... But she’s young.. Too young, and she’s terrified. The other kids tried to protect her and got hurt in the process, so she feels safe around them, and that’s why she chose to be with them.”

 

He still didn’t move a single muscle as the room fell quiet again. He cursed himself silently, while he just laid there waiting for his own words to settle in Daichi’s mind and the response from the other to kick in. Waiting for the anger and blame to rain down on him. Frankly he was surprised they were still laying there, cuddled up close together. But nothing happened. He kept waiting for what he thought was unavoidable, but the other didn’t respond at all. At least five more minutes passed, and the captain was losing his mind at this point, not knowing if he should be saying or doing something. Then Daichi’s voice sounded again. “.. How are you not crying?”

 

At this Eiki blinked in shock and finally raised his upper body, just to stare down at the man who looked straight back up at him with tears flowing silently. Without doubt because of what he had just told him.  But there also seemed to be more to it. “.. I.. I don’t..” Needless to say Daichi’s words had caught him completely off guard. The usual reactions people had when he brought them such news as this, those he could handle. He even understood them. Them getting angry and calling him heartless and cold, he could handle that, but this? What the hell was this?

 

“How the hell can you know all of that and keep it together enough not to cry? Fuck.. It’s no freaking wonder you’re killing yourself with stress. Dammit, Eiki..”

 

**_Oh.. He's not.. Oh..  
_ **

****

The captain thought while starring at him with a loss of words in the pure shock he was in.

“Are you hearing me, Eiki? You can’t just feel the good stuff and close out the bad!”

 

That was true, wasn’t it. He felt the feelings alright. Not only about this, but about every bad thing that had happened ever since the world ended. He always felt it, but now he thought about it, he had never allowed himself to get angry or cry out, as he had convinced himself that he had to keep up the smiles for sake of the others around him. But that was straight out dumb, and he knew it, cause what was his excuse when he was alone then?

 

“… I want to find them.. Rip them apart.. I want to..” He hadn’t even noticed how viscously his body was shaking, before he had spoken those words and heard it in his own voice. “I want to make them feel everything they caused her.. All of them to feel.. Worse.. Even worse..”

 

“Good!” Daichi stated as he also now sat up with a furious fire in his eyes. “They damn right deserve it, all of them!” The captain kept starring at him as if he was an alien, and seemed to feel the same way to the hatred that was rising up in him, making the smaller body shake so bad it made the bed shake as well.

 

“NO!” The younger suddenly shouted at him. “No, I can’t do this, Daichi! I can’t allow myself to get emotional like this. I have to keep it together and act realistic about this. Fact is this has happened to a lot of people on this base.” Standing up he ripped his hand away angrily the moment Daichi attempted to take it.

 

“I don’t give a damn about the captain crap, you’re a human being too and humans feel! So feel!”

 

“The world ended, Daichi. People get raped, killed and hurt every day, nd the bad guys gets away with it. It’s just the way things are now. I don’t expect anyone else to keep their heads cold, but I have to so the right actions can be made. And I can’t afford to let you get into my head and mess that up!”

 

“He already has, captain. But if I can be bold for a moment, it’s nice to see you act like a human for once.” It suddenly sounded from Youta who sat on the chair with a disturbed look over being woken by the noise of their fight.

 

“Not you too!”

 

“Stop yelling. Daichi is right, and besides, you’re only yelling at him now, cause there’s no one else here you can take that anger out on. If those were here, you would be tearing them to pieces and hugging Daichi after. No?”

 

The vice then looked towards Daichi and raised a brow over his confused face. “And you, stop yelling at the captain. He is clearly feeling what you want him to feel, but he doesn’t know how to express it. You can’t just tell him to express it, and then expect it to be perfect or right the first time he does it.”

 

Now they were both starring at him blankly at him. “Shut up, Youta.” It sounded from both of them at the same time, which made them look at each other again. Daichi more confused and less crying, and the captain both extremely annoyed and fighting a smile at the same time. Youta just shrugged and stretched his back, stiffened by the position he had been sitting in. “And you’re both idiots.”

 

 Eiki cleared his throat and placed his hands on his hips. “The hell are you doing in my room, anyways. Get out.”

 

The two older looked at each other without words, but got up obediently. Eiki however, pushed Daichi back down on the bed with a heavy sigh resulting in another very confused look from the man. “I wasn’t talking to you.”

 

“… Oh. I just figured,”

 

“You figured wrong.” Eiki cut him off with a demanding voice. “You created a mess in my head. Now you can clean it up.”

 

The older starred at him for a bit, but then laid down with a hidden smirk. “Whatever the captain wants..”

 

“Damn right.” The captain just nodded before looking towards Youta. “I believe I ordered you out of my room.”

 

Youta clicked his tongue with a frown but headed towards the door. “And you’re sure?”

 

“Do I look like I need a damn nanny? Get. Out.”

 

Not letting the captain’s tone touch him, Youta walked out of the room rubbing his head lazily with a yawn. “Crazy kids.” They heard him mumble before he closed the door after him.

 

Nothing else happened that night. They were lucky enough that Amy didn’t wake up and demanded their attention. Not that there was much of the night left anyways, even without the sun being visible, they both knew it wouldn’t be long before the base would be filled with activity again. They didn’t share anymore conversations either. Words weren’t really needed. The night had already been too long for both of them, so they just laid there together in silence, finding comfort in the other’s presence. Neither of them felt any better, as nothing actually got solved or saved. The situation was still the same, and they both knew it would take time for any real progress to be seen in Amy. And they knew there was nothing they could do about the men who caused all of it. Other than trying their best to move on. But maybe they would be able to get there, if not faster, then at least safely, if they started working together instead of against each other. Right?


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think a m/m smut ( I think that's what you crazy kids call it these days anyways) warning is in order here. So if that's not your thing, don't read the whole thing. I did try to make it sound as.. Cuddly? as I could though, as I'm not interested in making this story out to be.. I don't know. And I don't know if there's ever gonna be any again either, future will tell :'3
> 
> Warned about it earlier in the tags as well, warning here again just in case. Frankly I wanna warn about everything possible, you never know how shit goes down when you're just letting the story run as I do in this one lol

Another two months past. Most of it in the blink of an eye, but still with a lot of moments that made it feel like years. All of those moments involved Amy of course. Every time she seemed to finally be taking one step further forwards, another five steps backwards followed. But they held tightly onto the little victories they had each day. Like the day where the captain had chosen to spend the day on the activity level with her, letting Youta handle a meeting with the commanders that didn’t really require his presence. And the two of them had played with homemade make-up he helped her create with some basic household supplies, and he had let her play with his long hair, which she had meant looked way better in a messy bun. Then she had drawn a purple flower on a piece of white cardboard, cut it out to a scary precision if you asked the captain, and placed it at the side of the bun with a hairpin holding it in place. He couldn’t say really had minded letting the girl do as she pleased, as the smile on her face meant more to him than his own pride, and much more than whatever thoughts the people around them had of him. Of course he also received some of the homemade make-up they had made, which was very carefully applied to his face, while the girl had chatted silently, shyly and excitedly all at the same time, about she used to have done this with her friends and her mother before that fateful day. But of course, Daichi had chosen to attempt on joining them, as soon as his training was done, which had made the girl crawl back in a silent hiding behind Eiki the moment she saw him. Her insecurities around him were still strong, and none of them blamed her or tried to force anything upon her, that could cause her to lose everything they had worked so hard to build. So instead of turning his attention to the girl immediately, he turned it towards the captain to let the girl take his presence at her own pace. And of course the captain just sat there in all the glory Amy had blessed him with. The man had starred at him the first couple of seconds with a dumbfounded face, before he couldn’t hold back the laughter that build up in him over the sight. The captain had crossed one leg over the other, and sat in the most ladylike position he could pull off, while smiling calmly but vindictively at Amy, telling her how he knew how they could make her uncle look a lot less scary. Daichi didn’t notice any of it of course, and before he knew it, the captain had attacked him and trapped him onto the chair, trying his hands with some of the ribbon pieces Amy had declared unworthy of being a part of the masterpiece she had made of the captain hair. And not too long after, the stubborn man also had the homemade make-up smothered all over his face, though a lot more unprecise and clumsy then the one she had applied on Eiki, who sat on the table with a big grin on his face while the girl went loose on her suffering uncle. But neither of them had expected that day to hold one of the biggest victories of all. So the shock hit them like the shockwave following a nuclear bomb, when the girl stepped back from her trapped her uncle to take a look on her work of art. Starring at his face for the first time Eiki had known, just to let out a small resistant smile that quickly turned into the brightest laughter the captain had ever heard. Both of them feeling like the heaviest stone had just been lifted from their hearts, as she tried to look away to stop it, but just burst out in laughter again the moment she looked at him again. They had joined her laughter as soon as the shock had settled down in them, and soon the rest of the surrounding people had discovered what all the noise was about, joining them as well. The captain had doubted they actually laughed at the poor man, which seemed to be suffering a lot less. Amy had made quite the impact on everybody on the base, children as well as adults. They’ve heard story similar to hers before, but none quite as horrific as hers. Somehow her torment had made them all weak, as if they felt her pain with her. So seeing her smiling and beaming at her flustered uncle like that, felt like seeing the sun shining through a long and harsh storm. So far, he counted this memory one of the best he had. Not just since the world ended, but before then too. And looking at Daichi’s face laughing with a few tears running down his cheeks, he could tell he did as well.

 

The captain too had made some progress.. Sort of.

The changes in the captain were small, almost unrecognizable, only there to be seen by the ones closest to him. He still took most of the work and the heaviest burdens upon his own shoulders. But he trusted more work upon Youta, then he ever had before. He still only participated in raids that wouldn’t force him to spend the night away from the base, in case Amy’s night turned bad. But as time passed, those nights became fewer too. The nights he spent cuddled up to Daichi on the other hand, grew to be often enough for Daichi to start to keep pieces of clothing in his room, in case they needed to leave it fully dressed. They never did anything more than cuddling though, but it was clear to everybody else around them what was growing between them. They still had their occasional fights and arguments, both of them being the passionate souls they were, but no one questioned the look they shared whenever they were caught starring at each other. It didn’t make the captain cool down on the flirting with.. Well, everybody else. To Daichi’s obvious annoyance, but he had learned to keep it down. At least until they laid tangled together in a cuddle. This was where they were right now, after another day with more victories than defeats, leaving them both in a relaxed mood. Daichi spending the past five minutes once again complaining about the attention the younger received. While Eiki just laid there, partially on top of him, resting with his hands on the older’s chest and his chin on top of them, with the most amused smile painted on his otherwise calm face, listening attentively to the long string of complaints. Humming  every now and then as answers to the other, he enjoyed the feeling of Daichi’s fingers messing with his hair. That for once weren’t tied up in any way, so it fell loose around the both of them as it pleased.

 

“And those shorts, Eiki. Please, get some pants. I’m on the edge of begging you here.”

“Not this again. You know my reasons for wearing them. Besides, I like the way my butt look in them.”

 

“That’s the problem. So does everyone else.. Please?”

 

The younger chuckled and looked at him with eyes that held such a warmth, it made Daichi feel like his insides were boiling dangerously. “You’re not on the edge of begging me. You ARE begging”

 

“Alright.. Yes.” Daichi sighed, but with nothing but relaxation behind it. “Yeah.. Please?”

 

“Hm.. Well maybe if you took your training seriously and became a fine tank, I wouldn’t have to play one anymore.”

 

“That would make you drop the shorts?”

 

Eiki looked up towards the ceiling with a considerate expression for a moment, before moisturizing his lips. “Probably not. They still make my butt look amazing.”

 

“Eiki!”

 

“Yes?” He looked at the older again looking more innocent than a newborn kitten, and he didn’t flinch as the older grabbed his hair by the roots pulling their faces closer together.

 

“Your ass is candy to my eyes, as much as it is for everybody else. I just wished you’d stop swinging it about the base in those shorts.”

 

“I assure you, I don’t know what you mean.” Eiki shrugged looking straight into the eyes of the other. “But I would let go of my hair, before I rip off something way more precious of yours.”

 

Daichi loosened his grip immediately with an awkward smile, responding to the very tone in the younger’s voice, that made no one question why he was in charge once they heard it. “S.. Sorry.”

 

“Mhm.” The captain kept smiling as the older stroked the hair gently back. Lazily he then pushed himself off of the older and went to his closet to change to nightwear, pulling off his clothes on his way there. “I might let others enjoy the view, Daichi. That doesn’t mean they get to have a taste without consequences, or my approval first.” He hummed, making sure to make a good show out of it, while he pulled the usual way, way too big white t-shirt over his head and let it fall around his body. Just because he didn’t plan on actually doing anything with the man yet, it didn’t prevent him from torturing the sanity out of him. Which he sadly enjoyed doing. A lot. Most of the time.. Constantly, actually. He enjoyed it so much, he sometimes wondered if his soul didn’t lean more to the evil side than the good. Enjoying it even more because the man never laid a hand on him, even though he clearly wanted to, sometimes fighting himself internally like a lunatic. Like Eiki knew he did right now.

 

“That.. Doesn’t mean you’ll keep getting away with it. Or that they won’t try. Or that.. I got no good arguments here, do I?” Daichi grunted annoyed and too busy looking at the younger to really fight him. Watching every single one of his movements, till the t-shirt covered most of the slender body before him. He cleared his throat and looked away in an attempt to be respectful to the other’s privacy, though that was already much too late.

 

“Well, at least you tried?” The captain suggested with a smirk earning a huff from the other. Returning to the bed and climbing back on it and on top of the older again, this time sitting up straddling him. “I’m not paying more attention to either of them, than I do to you. That’s worth something, no?” He asked as the older looked at him again, this time with a heavy blush heating up his cheeks.

 

“I.. Erh.. I suppose so..”

 

“Get up here for a second.”

 

“.. Sure, Captain. Just a second..” He managed to say, captivated by the sight of the younger. He positioned himself a bit better, before pushing his upper body up until he reached a sitting position, now with the younger on his lap. Which didn’t exactly help his situation, or growing problem for that matter.

 

Eiki however loved every second of it. Even more how the older only used the word ‘captain’ in situations much like this, but usually addressed him by name other than that. He never imagined hearing that word used about him would actually get him excited, but somehow the older’s use of it did just that. He stroked a couple of fingers up against the man’s neck and tilted his head a bit. “It’s weird to think I’m the only virgin here, when you look that nervous, Daichi.”

 

Daichi raised a brow and smiled as if he didn’t know whether he should be happy or go punch someone. “What the hell made you think I’m not a virgin as well?”

 

“Oh please, that look I’m seeing more from you, tells me you know exactly how to work with that wonder hiding under your pants.” The younger replied calmly like it was nothing, and while that was very much true, the older started to lean towards the option of finding someone to throw a punch at.

 

“You’re merciless, you know that?”

 

Eiki shrugged one of his shoulders lazily and hummed. “That could be true. You do seem to be bringing out the worst in me.”

 

“Yeah..” Daichi sighed as the younger stroked his hand against hi newly shaved cheek. “Right back at you.”

 

“Am I messing too harshly around with you?”

 

“I can handle it. Whatever you got, bring it on. I’m not gonna lose to you.”

 

“Yeah?” The younger chuckled amused laying his arms around the older’s neck, as the older pressed their noses gently together with a grunt.

 

“Yeah, b-“

 

He didn’t get to finish that sentence, before the younger had silenced him with a kiss that first shocked him enough for him to freeze on the spot. Eiki didn’t pull away or let go of him though, and soon he wrapped his arms around the much smaller body, responding to the kiss as if he needed the lips of the younger to breathe. It felt hot, like they were both burning up with a desire neither of them could say they had felt before. Just like that. The younger wrapped his legs around his waist, and without even really realizing it, the older twisted around pinning him down on the bed as the heat kept rising between them, and he had to break the kiss in order to catch his breath. Eiki just laid there looking up at him, just as heavily breathing as he was, and a red colour glowing strongly from his pale cheeks. Looking more alluring and heavenly than Daichi seemed to be able to wrap his mind around. There was literally nothing he wouldn’t give for being able to capture the look he saw in those dark eyes, that at the same time seemed to struggle as the younger for the first time also looked sincerely shy, hungry and with a fire burning in his eyes that Daichi hadn’t seen before. Almost cursing himself straight to hell for breaking the kiss.

 

“I.. We.. Shouldn’t..” He started, but the younger quickly shook his head and pulled him down again into another breathtaking kiss.

 

“Shut up, Daichi.”

 

And he did. Growling loudly as he stroked his hand under the white t-shirt to explore the soft pale skin that met his fingers underneath it. He closed his eyes by the sound of little sweet moans coming from the younger, as the older let his lips part from his again, but this time to let his kisses trail down the pale neck with little but hungry bites of affection. And the younger, to his own surprise, responded perfectly by stretching his neck submissively to the other followed by another of his adorably sweet moans. Rarely seeing such a submissive behavior from him, it only made the Daichi bite down more possessively on the exposed neck, not caring if it then left a mark there or not. In fact, he certainly hoped it did. The younger quickly stroked his hands down his sides to pull the shirt of the man, but couldn’t help but fumble helplessly around with it as his hands just wouldn’t stop shaking. Hell, his whole body was trembling under the burning touch from the other. Until the older finally understood his struggles and raised himself up on his knees, only to remove the shirt the younger seemed to hate wholeheartedly at this point. The flushed stare on the younger’s face only turned more intense as he looked up at the other. “Oh.. My. Someone has been working out..”

 

Daichi shook his head over the shy words from the other with a smirk, before he leaned himself down on the other again, pushing up his t-shirt to place a string of little kisses down his stomach. “You made my training program yourself. “

 

“Nnnh… Not regretting the result of that..”

 

The captain probably wouldn’t admit it if asked, but oh how it felt good letting the other take the control. He didn’t even know what sort of impact it would have on him just to let go without worrying about what shots to call in that exact moment. It wasn’t until the other’s hand’s attention went down between his legs, he let out a surprised sound over the sensation he felt running through his body as a heat wave stronger than before, starring up a the man with wide eyes. “…”

 

The older quickly removed his hands by the face of the younger with a worried look. “Too much?”

 

“N-no.. Just.. Sudden.. I wasn’t prepared. How strange..”

 

“.. Awkward. Thought you were lying about the virgin part too.”

 

“Why would I need to lie about that?”

 

“… Good point.” The older sighed soundlessly and pressed their foreheads together lovingly. “You know we don’t have to do this, right?”

 

At this the younger blinked and flicked the older’s ear.

 

“Ow! Eiki, why-“

 

“I said it wasn’t too much. I’m not some fragile maiden, Daichi. And you’d be dead by now if I didn’t want any of this. So could you please stop.. Stopping?” He turned his head a bit, just to find the man’s earlobe, trapping it between his teeth in an affectionate bite. Lowering his voice that sent a heated shiver down the much bigger man’s spine. “Do I really have to beg you to fuck me silly?”

 

The expression hiding in Daichi’s eyes, though his face didn’t seem to say much, told the younger more than enough for his body to heat up, and he himself quickly blushing strongly with a loss of breath of embarrassment when he realized what he’d just said. He felt the older taking his hip in a strong grip, and he answered it by digging his nails in the man’s neck. He didn’t get too much time to think, before the man had flipped him onto his stomach, and lifted him enough to place the pillow under it, raising his lower body just enough for the man to gain full access to do with him as he pleased. He blinked a bit as the older lowered himself over him with a kiss against his exposed neck almost so gently he couldn’t feel it. “Don’t move. Do you trust me?” He asked with a hungry growl that made the younger bite his lip with a slow nod.

 

“Of.. Of course “

 

He felt the man move around a bit, before a ripping sound caught his attention. “Uh.. What are you doing?”

 

“Just lay still.” Was the only answer the man offered him, before he leaned down and pushed the younger’s long hair aside, making sure it wasn’t in the way before he tied the piece of fabric he had just ripped of the bottom of his own shirt around his head as a blindfold.

 

“D-Daichi..”

 

“It’s not too tight, is it?”

 

The younger’s voice trembled with both curiosity and a deep confusion, but he didn’t make any signs of uncertainties.  “No, but.. Uhm.. I can’t watch you like this?”

 

The older smirked and crawled down, letting his tongue slide slowly a bit up the pale-skinned spine, resulting in an almost purring sound from the blindfolded. “That’s the idea. You’re too observant, little captain. This way you’ll be forced to feel everything instead of thinking about it first. Now, shut up and let me work.”

 

He wouldn’t hesitate to remove the blindfold if it turned out to truly be unpleasant for his younger, and less experienced, partner. But somehow he doubted it would, as Eiki seemed to be more positively responsive to his dominant role, rather than the role that wouldn’t cause him to submit. Not that it was a bad thing. God no, it did nothing but make him want to rip the clothes off the smaller body just to take it right then and there, to see the usually so commanding and dominant boy suddenly so willing to be pinned down by him to do just that. Figuring neither of them had actually planned any of this, they we’re a lot more unprepared than he’d like to be now it was the younger’s first time, but he wasn’t about to regret going this far with him now. It just meant he’d have to go slower and more carefully about it, than either of them seemed to like.

 

It didn’t take him more than 20 minutes though, before he had stripped them both entirely, already more than impatient as the room quickly got filled by the sweet moans and cries from the blindfolded again as he worked and teased the small body, as if it was the purpose of his entire existence. He took his sweet time with experimenting, only to find his rougher treatment certainly had its effects on the boy, so when he buried his finger in silver-gray hair, to lift his head a bit by pulling it in the roots, he couldn’t help but smile over the pleasured noise that came from the younger. “Ngh.. Daichi..” He cried out before the older silenced him by forcing a couple of fingers on his free hand into his mouth, and let the other slide back down to rub the younger’s pulsing arousal.

 

“Got plenty of time to make you scream out that name, Captain.. First you better make sure those are wet properly, otherwise the next part might end up hurting quite a bit. So be a good boy now.”

 

The younger shivered by his words, but sucked obediently the man’s fingers. It didn’t take him long though, encouraged by another possessive bite on his neck from Daichi, for him to move his head and Daichi felt the small but seductively rounded ass grind up against his own hardened member that wanted nothing more but to enter that sweet zone. “Please, Daichi! Just get it in there already!”

 

The older chuckled and pressed the other’s head roughly down towards the mattress again. “I don’t think so. I’d rather have you scream in pleasure than pain this time, though I don’t doubt the face you’d make from that would be just as beautiful.. So be patient just a little while longer. I guarantee you won’t be able to sit down tomorrow either way.”

 

With that he reached down with his wetted fingers, rubbing them shortly against his entrance before inserting the first finger surprisingly easily, earning a satisfied moan from the younger. At first he didn’t understand how the boy’s body was able to accept him just like that, but then it hit him. The boy had mentioned not being a monk the day in the meeting room where he had teased Daichi around. So without much consideration about it, he quickly inserted a second finger, pressing them both hard up against the boy’s prostate. Causing the boy to cry out in a pleasure, he clearly hadn’t felt before, to Daichi’s satisfaction. “What’s this, captain? Virgin or not, it’s not the first time you’ve played around with this place, hm?”

 

“I.. I’m human, you know.. Ah-hngh.. I got.. Needs!”

 

Pushing his fingers up against the boy’s sweet spot a few more times, he finally spread his fingers scissoring him to stretch him faster, as he was about to lose his patience just by watching the boy tense up as the pleasure just kept overwhelming him. Crying out louder in moans that sounded so different from the moans by any woman Daichi had ever been with. But so much more arousing than he’d ever be able to put into words. The only proof of it was his own member as he nearly couldn’t stand it anymore.

 

Eiki on the other hand wasn’t growing impatient because of anything he heard or saw. The first couple of minutes he had surely internally cursed the blindfold, preventing him from seeing the man. Especially since he’d never actually done this sort of thing with anyone before. Making out just for the fun of it, he had done that, but tending to his needs had always been done in his own company. He had made sure to acquire his tools for that.  Something about the man had just.. Made him wonder what it would be like, with him. He didn’t quite understand how they went from their constant fights, to what hadn’t supposed to be anything more than a testing kiss, to ending up like.. Well, this.

But he had honestly never felt this good. And the way every unseen touch by the man made his heart beat faster and louder, almost to the point where he wasn’t sure if it would be able to handle the stress or keep it inside his own body. He was losing his mind. But oddly enough, he only felt himself crave for more of it. The rougher touches the better. He wasn’t one to actually find any pleasure in pain. He could handle pain, but calling it pleasing would be stretching it. There were simply something in the way the other demanded him that couldn’t help but making him feel like he was something precious, and the older wanted to make sure nobody else ever had the insane idea of laying a hand on him. Usually he wouldn’t encourage such a behavior. But right now it was the best feeling in the world.

 

He couldn’t help but let a disappointed sound escape his lips when he felt the empty feeling it left in him, when the older pulled his fingers out. It had hurt a bit at first, but being him, he had learned how to handle pain a long time ago. It’s not like anyone could expect to live through the apocalypse fighting like he did without a single scratch. But from the experiments he had done himself, he knew enough to relax properly. Of course nothing of it had prepared him for what followed next, when the older suddenly flipped him onto to his back instead. Which was a burning forceful sensation in his lower body as he felt Daichi’s bigger member entering him, both stretching him wide and what felt like filling him up completely, and it actually forced out a small whimpering out of him. “Hah-ah.. Daichi!”

 

Daichi didn’t pull out, neither did he really move. He knew it would end up hurting him as he hadn’t had any oil or any sort of lube to properly prepare the poor boy, though.. He hadn’t actually been with a male partner before. But an ass is an ass, right?

Trying his best to convince himself that it was merely the virgin part of the younger that made him react to the intrusion, he locked his arms tightly around the smaller body and held him close, with soothing little kisses wandering around his neck. “I know.. You gotta Relax, Eiki. You’re way too tight..”

 

The younger’s breath were quite heavy and troubled, as his body started shaking when he tried to relax all the muscles in it that had unwillingly tensed up in him. He laid his legs around the other’s waist and pressed up against him with an unexpectedly vulnerable expression painted all over his face, though Daichi couldn’t exactly see his eyes. “I know, just.. Don’t move, Daichi..”

 

Daichi watched the younger’s face. Suddenly deeply annoyed by the blindfold. It hadn’t been a problem while the boy had been in the other position, but now he really couldn’t stand not being able to look into those eyes that seemed to hold an entire universe secretly protected in them. No matter how arousing his face then looked with it on. So without any hesitation, he ripped the blindfold off of him and stroked his cheek with his thumb, starring into the very eyes that had been hidden away, looking back at him with nothing but affection, though his face still seemed like he was facing danger. “There you are..”

 

The younger looked baffled up it him, closing his eyes a couple of times to adjust his sight again. “It’s.. Hard for me to go anywhere in my current situation.. I’m sort of full of you?”

 

The older smiled lovingly and shook his head, kissing the younger’s pale cheek. “There’s more to you, than just your body, Eiki.. There’s a whole different Eiki hiding in your eyes. It’s like your eyes and your face don’t speak the same story..”

 

“Hn.. I liked the blindfold. You were lucky I wore it, if I had seen your actual size beforehand, I might not have jump onboard with this.”

 

This made the older chuckle as Eiki buried his hands in his shorter black hair, capturing his lips in a reassuring kiss so the other wouldn’t think he was complaining. “But since you have that opinion on my eyes and face.. Which one of them is it exactly you love?”

 

“No specific thing. Just all of it combined.” The older answered without thinking, influenced by the sweetness of the kiss.

 

It wasn’t until Eiki had broken the kiss, tilting his head in that mischievous kitten looking way with a grin on his face, that Daichi slapped a hand onto his forehead. “Eiki..”

 

“Heeeh.. Hehe.. You love me. This is gonna be so much fu-“

 

Before the younger finished that sentence, Daichi chose to shut him up with a harsh thrust, which made the younger let out another whimper, though mixed with a surprised moan, as he’d had time to adjust just a little. “You’re such a brat, captain. You know that?”

 

The younger took a couple of deep breaths, before he looked lovingly into the other’s eyes and pulled his face closer to his own again. “I’ve heard it mentioned once or twice before.. You should do that again.”

 

“You’re gonna be the end of me.” He whispered almost unheard, trapped the other in another kiss. He certainly weren’t a virgin, but still, never had he responded to any of his past lovers as he did to the little one who seemed to be devouring his whole existence. Only starting his thrusts, as the kiss grew more intense and passionate, mixed with Eiki’s moans of need and the groans and growls from Daichi just as needy. Both of them too desperate for every taste of it to break it until they literally ran out of air and had to in order to breathe. Not to any disappointment for the older though, as the younger’s moans only sounded louder when not suffocated, and he wanted to hear it even louder. He wanted nothing more than for the whole world to know he was the one making the little soldier under him cry out like that, and every moan he earned only made him thrust harder each time. He couldn’t stop cursing loudly as he already felt his climax pressure him for release. Not that he planned on giving into there. Oh no, not like that. Watching the younger’s face he could tell he weren’t far behind either so instead, he grabbed his legs, pushing them down towards the boy’s stomach to position himself better. Aiming to let every single of his thrust hit his prostate. And with that the younger cried out loudly not caring whether it could be heard outside the door or not. “Hah, ngh Daichi.. I.. I’m, don’t.. Ah!”

 

He didn’t answer the boy, keeping up his thrusts and rhythm and barely breathing at all, until the boy without even being able to fight it reached his release with a surprised scream and tensing up his body, that forcibly pushed the older over the edge to the same. Struggling to catch their breaths, a whole little chain of the sweet little moans sounded from Eiki as the other kept thrusting more lazily while filling his insides with his seeds. The younger smiled gently with a look of perfect satisfaction written all over his face, as he caught the older in his arms when he finally collapsed on top of him in exhaustion.

 

The older closed his eyes instantly, as he laid with his head resting on the shoulder of the younger, breathing the smell of him in like it was the long desired solution to all the problems in the world. He sighed perfectly at peace with the moment, when he felt the other stroking his fingers gently through his hair. “.. No regrets?”

 

“Never.. There’s nothing to regret. It was.. Beyond something I could have imagined.”

 

“.. You actually imagined something like that?”

 

“I have eyes and a mind, Daichi.. You might be a pain sometimes, but you are not an eye sore.”

 

The older didn’t answer. He just looked at him with a strong blush shining through his darker skin, and dragged the other down into a gentle kiss.

 

After laying there for another hour, they finally got up and somewhat dressed. Daichi only caring enough to wear his pants, and Eiki only his white t-shirt. Before they sneaked off to the bathing area, before the whole base would come alive and catch them in the act. Barely making it back to the captain’s room before the sounds of the floor told them the others started their day. Only opening the door shortly to smack a note about not wanting to be disturbed on the outside of it, Daichi quickly locked the door under the instructions from Eiki, before returning to the bed. Closely cuddled together as they fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations with reaching the end of the chapter!
> 
> If you enjoyed the.. Smut? Then I'm happy I served you well.
> 
> If you found it boring, then I am very sorry, but I don't want this story to be filled with steaming guy action everywhere.
> 
> If you got here, by giving it a chance even though you don't normally like it, and it turned out not to be all that bad.. Then I'm proud. 
> 
> As usual, feel free to comment, leaves kudos or whatnot. And thanks for reading!


	12. Chapter 12

Later in the evening that day, Ren was sent to fetch the captain, for a raid that Youta had decided not to let him slip away from. Upon discovering the strange note on the captain’s door, Ren stood there starring at it for a good five minutes with confusion written all over his face. “Do.. Not.. Disturb? Why… I don’t understand?”  
He scratched his head. So strange, the captain never did anything like that. Not once had he done such a thing in all the time they’d been together. Was he sick?  
No.. That couldn’t be it, since everybody knew not even a burning fever would keep the guy away from his job, plus the captain wasn’t one to just get sick. It had only happened a handful of times in the past years. Maybe he was sleeping..  
Ren thought about that possibility for a couple of seconds, but then shook his. “Cap never really sleep.. ” He starred at the door again. It was true that he’d been hanging out a lot more in his room with Daichi though, sleeping or not. Ren didn’t really know what they were doing. He had heard rumors, sure, but in a really big crowd, rumors rarely aren’t anything more than exactly that. His mind might have seemed to be floating most of the time, but he wasn’t stupid enough to believe anything he heard from heavens knows what source. Especially not about the captain. If it wren’t confirmed by the guy himself, then it simply wasn’t true. Deciding this was just a way too strange of a behavior from the captain, he started furiously knocking hard on the door. “CAPTAIN OPEN UP, PLEASE! THIS IS WEIRD, COME OOON! WHY IS YOUR DOOR LOCKED? WHAT ARE YOU DOING? CAAAAAAPTAAAAIN! LET ME IN, CAPTAIN, OPEN THE DOOR! HELLO?!”

He literally just stood there hammering on the door, screaming at the captain to the disturbance of the caretakers who was trying to put the many children in their beds. “Ren! Keep it down for heaven’s sake, it’s hard enough to get them in bed as it is!” One of them hissed at him from one of the dorms. But of course, that didn’t stop the blonde one bit.

“HEEELLOOOOO!?”

Finally, the door opened, and the captain starred back up at him with a grumpy face. “I hope the world is ending for the second time.. What the hell are you yelling for?”

Ren starred back at him with a straight face. “Your door was locked.”

“It’s an attempt on getting some privacy, Ren.. Clearly that failed.”

“Oh.. What are you doing?”

The captain raised a brown. “…” He then sighed and stepped away from the door, waving a hand towards the bed, which contained the still half naked and heavily sleeping Daichi. Ren looked into the room and the bed, and tilted his head. The captain looked at him again with a deeply annoyed glare. “Busy. What do you want?”

“Well uh.. We could use your help during the coming raid. We need to clear some more areas, so it’s going to be a long one, and we’re a little short. You cuddle with him an awful lot lately, captain.. Why?”

Ignoring the blonde’s question, the captain rubbed his face in his hands to wake himself up at the thought of the raid. “Yes, I know. It’s fine. Amy is doing good at the moment, so.. Yeah, alright. So I take Youta decided on your team for this one, huh?”

Ren gave a nod and watched as the captain moved around to get dressed. “Yes, cap. He meant that would be best, since you’re going as well.”

“So he already counted me in without asking, eh? Cocky bastard..”

“Well he thought that you might be missing it and would want to go, even if you protested.”

The captain looked towards the sleeping in his bed and sighed a bit. “.. Yeah.” He then tied his shoes and grabbed a hairband on his way to the door. “I couldn’t leave Amy in the state she was in. But she should be fine for a week by now. She and Daichi are starting to get closer, and if goes a little south, Midori can take care of her.” Walking out of the room, making sure to close it after him, he quickly got his hair up in the usual messy ponytail. “I’ll tell Hiro to let her use the radio too, just in case. I’m taking Sora and the others are stuffing their faces then, before we leave?”

Ren followed the captain as they made their way to the elevator, with a bright smile on his face. “That’s good then. You’ve been very good for her, captain. And yes, he sent me to fetch you, in case you wanted to join us.” Noticing the strange way the captain was walking, he frowned. “Is something wrong, captain? It looks a little weird the way you walk.”

“No, everything’s fine. I’m just.. Uh.. Still very sleepy?”

“… Oh. That’s alright, I walk weird too sometimes when I’m really sleepy.”

Thank the heavens that boy were that oblivious, the captain thought to himself while rolling his eyes. He didn’t exactly need the joy it would be having his escapades with Daichi known by any of the people on the base. At least not yet. He didn’t even really know if there was anything more to it, and he preferred not having to deal with anything publicly before things were certain. But he surely had to keep the pain he felt certain places better hidden, if he didn’t want his little secret exposed. That much he figured. So once the doors opened again, he straightened his back and walk as normally as he could bear it, even though every step felt like daggers being stabbed into his body and almost made it hard for him to keep tears from his eyes. He cleared his throat as they entered the dining hall and scouted after the waiting raiders. “So you guys also packed and prepared everything?”

“No, captain. But it is being done as we speak, so we should be set to go as soon we’re done eating.”

“I see. Thank you for not waking me up before now. Youta told you not to wake me, before the last moment, didn’t he?” Moving towards the table once he spotted the raiders, he smiled a bit in greeting towards them with a nod.

“Yes, he said it would be pointless to try. If you’re having such troubles sleeping, I think it’s better to get some meds, instead of the cuddling.”

“Erh.. I’m fine, Ren. You don’t need to worry about it, I promise. No need for meds. I just uh.. Need to get out in the field again, that’s all.”

“Good evening, captain. Finally ready to get out there and be the badass we all are starting to fear is lost?” Sora grinned and patted the seat next to him. “Saved you a spot, so you won’t have to sit with those brutes.” He said with a nod towards his teammates.

The captain sent a smile towards his blonde partner, as they both took their seats, with him sinking down on the seat a whole lot slower and carefully. Then looked towards the commander, hiding a faked yawn behind the back of his hand to hide the pain of his new position. “I’m still badass enough to deal with all of your brutes and you at the same time. How is the leg doing, better I hope?”

Sipping to his water, Ren shrugged. “He managed to escape Daichi this morning during training, so I think his leg is just fine.”

“Hey, the idiot was going to trying to damage this face. I cannot allow that. As if my leg weren’t enough for him.” Sora pouted.

“Mh, you also just had to push his buttons. You know how he is about our captain, so I think you got as deserved.” Kiana added lazily. “Bragging about showing cap the good sides of life while we’re out on raids. It’s not even true, so I don’t get why you have to be such an ass to the poor guy.”

“He’s got a fat stick up his ass, so it can’t be helped. He needs to loosen up.” Sora just brushed her off.

At those words smalls ticks appeared on the captain’s face as they reminded him just why his body was aching every time he moved. “Language, please.” He mumbled and tried to eat. But with no appetite, he ended up merely poking to the food with regret, since the food on the raids weren’t anywhere near as good.

“He might force a stick up your ass, if you’re not careful. He’s gonna lose his patience with you sooner or later, and he probably won’t be gentle then.” Tom, the team’s tank, noted while finishing his plate.

 ** _Have mercy.._**  
The captain groaned internally and was seconds away from smacking his head on the table.

“What is it, cap? You don’t look so good.” Kiana smiled warmly while looking towards him.

“I’m fine, I just.. Don’t seem to have an appetite.”

“Please, that man is a straight as I am. So that won’t happen. He might beat me up though, but it’ll be worth it.”

At this the captain frowned and looked towards the commander. “Repeat that.”

“Uh..” Sora cocked his head. “He’s straight? Don’t tell me, you didn’t know. He was married before we got invaded by the nigtwalkers, even think he mentioned he and the miss’s had a little one on the way. Childhood sweethearts, I think it was. Though I’ll admit the man really does seem to have a thing for you.”

“How do you know all this?”

“How do you not know, so glued together you’ve been with the guy lately?” Michael asked in the middle of chewing a carrot.

The captain shrugged. “Well I.. I don’t know. We don’t really talk about our pasts. Or sexual preferences.”

Sora patted the captain on the head in a cheerful manner and grinned. “Well you’ve never been much of one to share that stuff, and he’s the type you gotta ask before he opens his mouth. It’s in the past anyways, I’m sure he didn’t tell you cause he’s over it.”

“Do you know how old he is?” The captain scratched his cheek while pushing the commander’s hand away.

“I’m 40. Or 41, I’m not really sure.” Daichi’s voiced suddenly interrupted.

They all turned their heads towards him, and the captain blinked surprised. “.. Daichi. I thought you were asleep. Did I wake you?”

“Seriously, you’re that old? Tell me your secrets..” Sora starred up at the man.

But Daichi simply ignored the commander and kept his focus on the captain. “Sort of. You left and the bed got cold. So asked around, and Hiro said I might find you here. Is it important?” He asked with a straight face.

“Erh.. Is what important?” The captain tilted his head while getting up, still very slowly then usually, trying his best to keep in mind not to do any sudden movements.

“My age.”

The captain raised a brow over the odd question. But then realizing what the man meant. Of course he would want to know whether it was important or not, considering the night they had just shared, and with Eiki now first finding out about it now. He shook his head and sent the man a warm but hidden look. “Why would it be. Who cares, and as Sora just said, I can only hope to look as good when I get to 40. Can I talk to you for a bit?”

This seemed to relax the man a bit and he nodded slowly. “I’d say you don’t have anything to fear..” Daichi gave off a tired yawn and started to move away from the group. “Sure. I’ll be over there. Want some coffee?” He said as plainly as one could have while he waved towards the little group of smaller tables in the corner of the room., that usually only got used in case they needed to hold a more private meeting and there weren’t any other time for them to do so, other than when they had to eat. Or for the few individuals that were so timid for whatever reason, that they couldn’t be in the crowd.

“That would be great. Thank you.” The captain turned his head towards the other and sighed. “I’m just gonna inform him about the raid, it shouldn’t take long. You guys can go ahead, and I’ll meet you at the cars. Get my scythe as well, please.”

“Sure thing, cap. Just don’t take too long, we wanna make sure to hit the first area around 02:30.” Sora nodded, while he and the team got up and started heading towards Level A. “Is it just me, or is he walking funny?” He asked, watching the captain join Daichi as the team left the dining hall.

“The captain said he was still very sleepy.” Ren just shrugged, still smiling brightly and oblivious as ever.

“Sure. Sleepy.. Let’s go with that.” Kiana mumbled with rolling eyes.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That you’re too innocent for your own good, Ren. And you have a bad memory.”

Sora starred at his female raid member. “You don’t think..?”

“I confirm nothing, commander.” She huffed and leaned up against the elevators wall. “Call it my intuitions. Our captain has been very.. Relaxed, lately. Don’t you think?”

“But that is good, no? I don’t understand where you’re going with this.” Ren rubbed his arm in a mix between worry and confusion. He was usually close to the captain, as they’d been partners ever since he became a raider. And now he found a distance from him, but he hoped their new mission would give them a chance to catch up.

Kiana quickly picked up on the blonde’s sudden mood change and waved her hands. “Oh no, honey. Don’t worry, I’m sure the captain is just fine. I didn’t mean to scare you!”

“I’m not scared..” The blonde smiled a little and shook his head. “I just miss him a little, I think.”

Sora grinned widely and patted the blonde on the bag. “Well that oldie sure has been keeping our captain all to himself for long enough, Hasn’t he. Good thing you’ll get an entire week of hunting with him then.”

“Are you sure your leg is set for a mission like this, commander?” Tom mumbled as he activated his watch and placed it on his wrist. “We might be have the jeep and such, but that doesn’t mean we won’t end up doing a lot of running.”

“My leg will be fine. As long as I keep it supported. And of course, as long as Kiana won’t mind massaging it..” The commander smirked towards the female.

“She will. Get Ryuu to do it, you perv.” Kiana huffed coldly, but with nothing but smiles in her eyes.

“Aw, why do you break my heart like that. I don’t want Ryuu to touch me with those.. Man-hands..”

“Tough luck.”

They moved towards the weapon storage, Ryuu just rolling his eyes over his teammates. The commander smiled towards his mute teammate. “Very, uhm.. Nice man-hands of course. No offense intended, don’t be mad, Ryuu, I need you.”

Ryuu wrinkled his nose and quickly formed a few words on his notepad with his pen. Then showed it to Tom with a displeased look.

Tom scratched his head reading the words and then shrugged. “True. But to be fair, a lot of guys here wouldn’t mind that, Ryuu. He is kinda attractive in a strange way for a guy, you know. You focus more on him as a person, than you do on his gender. Sorcery.”

“What did you say, Ryuu?” Kiana smiled warmly as she also took a look at the notepad, when the mute showed her. “.. What Tom said. But don’t worry, who cares if our idiot commander doesn’t appreciate your kind of magic. The rest of us does!”

“I do appreciate him! Don’t fill his head with such evil lies.” The commander pouted. “What did he say?”

“Just that you probably wouldn’t mind so much, if it was done by the cap.” Tom said plainly, wrapping an arm around the mute protectively, while Michael shook up in the mute’s hair with a gentle look that said it all. The mute looked between his teammates and smiled widely.

“Well.. Fine, what Tom said. I don’t even know how to argue against that.” The commander agreed after a heavy sigh, but smiling amused as the team laughed, with exception for Ryuu, who settled with smiling just as amused. “Let’s hurry up and grab our toys, guys. Ren, I trust you can handle grabbing whatever the cap needs of toys as well. Activate your watches if you haven’t already. I won’t have Hiro barking at us again for activating them too late. Especially you, Ren.”

“Yes, commander.” It sounded in unison from the group, as they entered the storage room to find what they needed of weapons, bullets and explosives materials.

 

* * *

 

 

“Hold on, you’re going on a raid?” Daichi asked looking confused at Eiki. “So suddenly?”

The captain sighed and looked down towards his already half empty cup of coffee. “.. I have to go on this raid, Daichi. And we won’t be back for about a week. I know it’s a little sudden, but it’s a long one, and since we can’t send another team at the moment, we have to settle with the next best. We have to clear some more areas, otherwise we’ll end up running out of supply sources. Including that mall we found you guys in. We haven’t been back there since then. I canceled the planned raid to that area, remember? I’m hoping the nightwalkers will have thinned out from that place by now.”

Daichi frowned. “…” Looking away he shook his head. “And my old group.. What’s left of them anyways.. What if they’re still there?”

“Impossible. The nightwalkers were about to storm the place as we left. They either fled, or they got attacked. Staying there with so many nightwalkers is suicide.”

The older tightened his grip around the cup. “.. Let me go as well? With you guys around, I should be fine. Right? And I don’t suck as bad anymore.” He nodded slowly. “Yeah, let me join you.”

The younger turned his eyes towards him in the instant those words had left the man’s mouth. “Absolutely not. Daichi, you are not ready, and I won’t risk allowing you to go on any raids while.. Look, it’s not a matter of us not being able to protect you. It’s a matter of if you’re ready to stand on your own. Everybody has their job to do out there, and while we do depend on each other, it’s.. I don’t go out there and do what I do, thinking that Ren will save me if I fuck up. Even though he most likely will, I go out fully sure I can do it, even if Ren is not around. I trust him, but I do not depend on him. You know this..” He sighed and rubbed his face in a hand. “Look.” He said while getting up slowly, leaving his cup on the table, and walking over to the man’s side instead. “You’re getting better. And I’m very proud over how quickly you’ve been learning, and how strong you’ve become in such a short time. But this is serious, Daichi. I’m not saying our way of doing it is the only way, but I am saying that I know our ways works and that’s why we stick to it. And remember you agreed to this, before we dragged you here.”

The man looked up at him with a worried look in his eyes. But he didn’t object to his words as there weren’t really any way that he could. Instead he looked towards the floor, shaking his head, with a grip on the younger’s hand. “…”

Eiki looked puzzled at him for a bit, before it hit him why the man would want to go with them in the first place. He looked around the dining hall, just to make sure they were alone, before he slid down sitting on his lap, unable to avoid making a grimace doing it. “Daichi.”

“Mhm.” The man sighed heavily while wrapping his arm tightly around the smaller body. Leaning his head towards the neck, just to breathe in the smell of him.

“I’m not running away from you. I will come back, and I will miss you. I’d rather be cuddling with you right now, but I have to do my job as the captain here first. While I will try hard to.. Make more, uhm.. Time. For us.. My job here has to come first a lot of times. And it is about time, that Iprioritize it again. Otherwise everything we’ve build here might crash, and I can’t allow that to happen. Not when we’ve gotten this far. I can’t always be physically by your side, and I need you to understand that before we continue any of.. This.”

The man just kept breathing his scent in, somehow to make sure he wouldn’t end up forgetting the sweetness of it, while the younger was gone. “Hm.. There’s an us?” Was all he said though. He already knew the rest of it, and also understood the importance of his role. And the burdens of it, being the many sacrifices he knew the younger would be forced to make, now he not only had the older, but also Amy in his life. He squished the younger tightly, wondering if he’d ever be able to stop feeling guilty around him.

The younger’s cheeks lit up in a light red colour, and he cleared his throat by the feeling of the other nuzzling at his neck. “That’s.. That’s all you have to say?”

“Yeah? I already know what you are, and what it demands of you. Keeping you all to myself would be selfish, and I never intend to do that.. I’m sure you got more greatness, the world needs you to bless us with. However..” He smiled weakly and kissed the neck of the other. “That doesn’t mean I won’t feel the need to keep you safe. Especially if there is an us.. If you can’t be by my side, then I’ll do whatever it means to be by yours.”

The captain tilted his head a bit to the side to expose the neck. “Hn.. You are a very strange man, Daichi.”

“Oh?”

The younger nodded lightly. “40 year old straight man, all over a 24 year old guy.” He got up and reached his hand out to the older. “Wanna see us off?”

Daichi sighed soundlessly. “I don’t even know what to say to that..” He help the younger get up again gently, slightly worried if it was really a good idea for him to go on any raids. But he decided not to say a thing about it, knowing that the younger captain wouldn’t listen to a word of it anyway. Besides, if anyone was capable of working with a wounded, or in this case, a.. Strained.. Body, it would be him. He took his hand and got up as if there weren’t any questioning needed. “Obviously. They’re probably already waiting for you. You’re not saying goodbye to Amy?”

“No, I don’t want to wake her. Tell Hiro to let her use the radio anytime she needs, okay?” The captain bit his lip and gave the older’s hand a light squeeze. “You and Amy will be alright, while I’m gone.. Right?”

“I’m sure she’ll appreciate that. I’ll tell her in the morning.. Or if she wakes up.” He looked towards the younger as they started moving. “It’s disturbed you’re more anxious about whether or not we’ll be alright, when you’re the one going up there, and we’ll be here in perfect safety, you know. Of course we will.. I think the only reason why she’s been recovering at all, is because she saw you don’t allow bad guys here, and she trusts that.”

“That’s even more dangerous. Bad guys sometimes slips through, I can’t prevent that from happening with 100% success every time. Some are really good at hiding their goals. Others makes really bad decisions nobody can predict beforehand. Trusting others is always a gamble.”

“But you do what you can to keep the young ones protected, nobody can expect more of you. She knows that too.”

The captain sighed a bit and pushed the button to Level A. “Originally I wanted to make an adopt-program. But most of our kids are older ones, and nobody seemed too eager about playing family with them, so instead I decided it might be better if we kept the adults and the kids separated as much as possible. And so the kids only really gets handled by the caretakers and Midori.”

“And you. But I get it.. Why though? I mean.. if the others got to be around the kids, they might get attached to them or something, adopt that way?”

“It was like that in the beginning, when we didn’t have as many as we do now. But instead of that outcome, we ended up with a bunch of broken hearted and rejected kids, when the adults they’d gotten themselves attached to didn’t want anything to do with them anymore. It was a mess.. It puts a heavy responsibility on our caretakers. It’s difficult creating a family vibe, when you got 8 aunts or uncles and 30+ siblings.” He let go of the other’s hand, and activated the watch around his wrist. Then he reached down in the back pocket of his shorts and pulled out the dog-tag he only wore when he was above ground. “Our base is far from perfect, but we have to settle with the situation in front of us. And as you can imagine, parenthood is the last thing people wants to deal with when the kids aren’t their own.”

“Wait, wait. So you’re saying that none of the kids, literally none.. Has any parents at all?”

“None. Except for Julian, of course. I told you, we had an.. Less.. Fortunate event that happened around one and a half years ago, I belive. But it’s a long story, and I really don’t want talk about that right now.”

“… Alright. When you’re back then?”

“Sure. You can also open your mouth and tell me about your wife then.”

The older rubbed his neck with an uncertain expression. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to share his past, he already had with the raidmembers of Sora’s team during one of their trust-building training sessions. He just weren’t too sure it was right sharing it so soon in their relationship. But when he gave the thought a second chance, he couldn’t really find any reasons to why not, considering the personality his younger lover were. And maybe it was even more wrong, that neither of them really knew anything about who they used to be by now, especially with their relationship in mind.

The captain frowned watching the different expression showing on the man’s face. “Eh.. Daichi. Don’t think so hard about it. I won’t judge you, no matter what you’ve got in your past. I just.. Don’t think it’s right that I know less about you than the raiders does. We should be closer than that, if we are to be.. You know.”

“Yeah.. You’re right. When you’re back then.”

The doors opened, revealing the sight of the team hanging out around the jeeps and trucks, while one of the storage-workers went through a checklist to make sure everything on it were packed in the van. Food and plenty of water, tents, blankets and sleeping bags, meds and other stuff they needed in case they had to treat wounds in the field. Everything you might need on a longer trip above ground. While personal hygiene weren’t on the top of their priority list, they did make sure to pack some clean clothes in case somebody got hurt bad enough for it to cause possible infections if not kept at least somewhat clean. The captain sighed a bit and wet his lips. “Hey, uhm.. Daichi..” He said lowly walking towards the group.

“Yeah?”

“See this watch.” He said, showing the older the watch around his wrist.

Daichi raised a brow over the sudden topic, but looked at the digital watch that didn’t exactly show the time of the day. Instead it showed nothing two numbers, and a blue dot placed in the middle of the bottom of the screen. “It seems to be broken or something. Get a new one while you’re out?”

“No, no. It’s not broken. All raiders have a watch like this. In the control-room, Hiro has a monitor all of these watches are connected to. When we activate it, dots will appear on the monitor, also identifying which dot belongs to what watch and that’s how the base will know if we die. The numbers here reads our pulse. If the dot turns yellow, it just means the battery is dying. We’re using rechargeable ones and always make sure to bring plenty charged ones with us, so don’t worry about that.” He looked up at the man and sent him a small smile, with eyes that just said everything. “If the dot turns red, it means our pulse has gotten dangerously low. And if the dot disappears, then..”

The older nodded slowly without the younger having to finish his words. “I get it.. It’s impressive you’ve made something like that. Might just hang out with Hiro more often then..”

“Hiro is the brain behind it. And I’m sure he won’t mind.”

Daichi shook his head with an affectionate smile in his eyes, even though it didn’t show on his face, knowing the captain probably didn’t want anyone to find out. Not yet anyways, and he respected that. Not that he doubted what he felt towards the younger was very real, but more because he knew it probably had more to do with the younger’s status, and him being protective of his reputation. He couldn’t exactly blame his lover for being protective of it, when he undoubtable had fought hard to achieve it. “Thank you for telling me.. I’ll keep an eye on you any given time I can.”

The captain returned the secret smile with a firm nod. “I hope so.. That would give Hiro the opportunity to abuse you as a babysitter as well. So it’s settled, you and Hiro will be working together at keeping an eyes on us, whenever you’re not busy with your training.” He looked towards the commander the moment they reached the team, and took a longer breath of air. “So, we’re ready to go?”

Sora nodded shortly while closing the door to the van as the storage-worker finished up and left the area. “Yup. You’ll be going with Ren and I in the truck.”

Daichi wrinkled his nose in a scoff at these words, looking away with his hands in his pockets to prevent himself from grapping the guy.

The captain blinked at the man’s reaction and chuckled with a smirk.

Sora just rolled his eyes and patted Daichi on the shoulder. “Relax buddy, we’re sharing a truck that’s all. I won’t touch your precious captain during the drive, I swear!”

“I am relaxed, and.. Wait. What the hell do you mean with during the drive?”

“Well I obviously can’t promise to control myself once we’re all cozy in the tent after a hard day of work, du-uh. I can’t wait!” Sora beamed and quickly ran to seek shelter in the truck. “Hurry people, gotta go!”

“Lay a finger on him and I’ll personally make sure no copies of you will be born in the future, you piece of-“

The captain cleared his throat, though, with a gentle look aimed on his older lover. “Daichi. You do realize he only does that to piss you off, right?”

“Uh..” Daichi sighed surrendering in a rubbing of his neck. “I.. Sorry. I mean yes. No, sorry? I’m not sure.. Sorry. Erh, captain.” Still very unsure on how to really use that word to address the younger at times like these.

The captain tilted his head with a big amused smile. “It’s unbelievable that you’re 40, Daichi.. Age really is nothing but a number, eh?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That you’re behaving like a teenager.”

“Yeah?” Crossing his arms over his test, the older looked at his lover with a challenging smile. “Did I act like that last night as well?”

“You had the stamina of one. I never thought you’d reach your limit after one round of fight-practice. You’ll have to better than that if your goal is to be my tank.” The captain answered with an innocent shrug and walked towards the truck.

Following the younger, he just smiled while shaking his head. He gave him a hand to help him up in the back of the truck, and watched him as he sat down, seemingly struggling to get comfortable. “I got more stamina in me than that. But if that’s what you think, I’ll make sure to prove it once you’re back.” He turned his head as Ren appeared on his side, jumping up in the truck as well, just to settle down next to the captain.

Eiki tried another sitting position and hid his uncomfortable pain behind a light laughter. “You’re on. You shouldn’t challenge me like that, Daichi. I’ll expect your best performance.”

Ren watched the two curiously, but didn’t say anything. Daichi looked at the blonde for a moment while shaking op in the captains hair. “You keep this one safe out there, Ren. I’ll be counting on you. Make sure to get back home safely, alright?”

Ren smiled widely at the man’s words with a quick nod. “Of course, that’s my job! Watch Hiro for me as well, will you.”

“Wouldn’t you.. Rather want me to watch over your kid?”

“Why? Julian will be fine. Hiro is the moron.”

“That is true.” The captain agreed with a serious nod.

“Yesterday he burned himself while heating up the bottle.” Ren nodded with the captain, just a serious.

Daichi looked between the two and couldn’t but smile. Again feeling guilty. The two were obviously close connected, and knowing he’d been keeping the captain busy for a long while, he could tell by their acts they probably had miss each other. As much as he didn’t want his lover to go anywhere right now, he also felt more at ease watching them. Not only that, the captain seemed to be back in his natural environment, almost looking as if he were on fire the moment Sora turned the key and started the truck. Much like the way he had looked during their escapades last night. He sighed as Sora waved out the window to get him to move away. “Move your ass, Daichi, time’s up!”

“Alright, alright!” Daichi yelled back at him without removing his eyes from the captain. “… I’ll see you around then. Be safe.”

Eiki looked up at the man with an uncertain look. He admitted to himself that he was awfully excited to get out again. There was just something that felt very wrong about the situation. As if he wouldn’t find peace with anything before it got resolved. “… Yeah.” The feeling in his gut only made him tense even more up, and he looked back at Sora with a bark as the guy made an impatient movement with the truck. “Calm your horses!”

Daichi starred surprised and moved back a step, as the captain suddenly stood up, but seconds later he felt himself being pulled straight forward by the collar of his shirt, feeling the captain’s lips pressed against his own before he even really registered it happening. All while Ren just sat there starring in awe. Tom who was placed behind the wheel in the jeep behind the truck, frowned but then nodded in what seemed like an approval and Ryuu starred at them in pure shock next to him.  
He reached up with a single stroke to his young lover’s cheek with his thumb, and smiled silently once the kiss broke. That seemed to have made the younger satisfied as well, as Daichi stepped out of the vehicle’s ways and watched them as they started moving. He didn’t move from the spot, before they were out of sight and the exit were completely closed and sealed again.

The captain kept standing there until he saw the base, and therefor Daichi, disappear in front of his eyes. When he sat down again, it was with a lot heavier bump due to the motions of the car on the forest ground, which made him cry out in whimper. “For the love of all that is sacred! Why?! Dumb.. Dumb, dumb, dumb truck!”

Finally, his blonde friend saw the light shone upon him in big rays. “Oh my..” He quickly laid a hand on the back of the captain, forcing him to bend forward, as he pushed on a specific spot on the lower of his back. “Does this hurt?”

“Ow, shit yes! Stop that, Ren!” The captain hissed at the brightly smiling boy. “Do you like to see me in pain or something.. Why would you do that?!”

“Well it is surprising, but it appears you had sex, captain. I remember hurting there after my first time with Hiro! But not to worry, Ryuu have plenty painkillers and it only happens the first few times. Massaging your back can also help it a bit.” He answered as innocently as a newborn.

“… Surprising..” Starring at his friend with wide eyes, the captain just shook his head in disbelief. “I.. Know how.. I don’t need.. Sweet baby carrots.” Crawling over Ren, he guickly hammered on the window to the inside of the truck. “Use that speeder and get us there, Sora, it can only go too slowly, dammit!”

Ren tilted his head and pulled the captain back, before pushing him down to the floor of the truck. “You really shouldn’t strain yourself like that in your state!”

“Please, Ren!”

“Don’t be a baby, captain. Lay still and relax, I’ll massage it.”

“No! no, no, no, no, no, don’t touch me there!”

Ignoring the captains protest, Ren decided to hold him down by straddling him, and started to work on the sore lower back.

This was going to be very long, long.. Long week.


	13. Chapter 13

After they reached the city, they kept moving until they reached the first area on their list. The captain knew how the nightwalkers had kept changing, but it still surprised him how the nightwalkers stayed away from the main road, as if they knew an attack on them there would be sure to fail. Obviously the monsters did know this, otherwise they would still be jumping out on them as they passed the different side roads and buildings on their way. It wasn’t until they had left their vehicles behind to explore and clean out Area 28, that they fell into their trap. But just as the nightwalkers had advanced, so had they, and they had learned what to expect and how to improve their defense against these traps. It hadn’t been easy, but change never were. The most difficult thing for most of them to realize, was that the nightwalkers supposedly were capable of thinking, and maybe always had been. It had been really hard on some, because they suddenly started seeing them as the humans they once were, thinking they might even remember something from their past lives. Realizing it was someone’s son or daughter, or lover. A past, forgotten friend or parent that they slaughtered, just like that . One night after Anna’s team had returned to the base, and a mistake from Anna’s side had cause them to lose yet another member of that team, the captain had immediately resigned her from the job and called all of the raiders and the commanders to a meeting. Where he had held a long speech about enemies being enemies no matter in what form they came in, and that they couldn’t let anything get in their way of protecting themselves or one another. He fully understood how they felt though, he felt the same way after all. He had the exact same thoughts as the bodies of nightwalkers feel around them during the clearing. What if the woman jumping at him was Daichi’s past wife. Or Amy’s mother. What if she was someone’s sister, of one who were home at the base knowing nothing.. So many what if’s. Too many, actually. It didn’t stop them, if anything they worked harder and even more effectively than before, making sure the cursed beings were really dead before they moved further. But none of them played around with it anymore. It felt like they had been pushed straight back to square one. How long had it been, since he had last actually looked at them as former humans.. Years. 4 years, to be exact, before the slaying of the monsters became something normal, he somehow enjoyed and felt good about specializing at. Proud even. But there was none of that in left in any of them anymore. No pride, no feeling of victory.. He more like felt as if he was committing a crime. But still, when he watched the movements of the nightwalkers, and really, really looked at them.. As much as the darkness allowed him to at least, something felt too off about it as well. Everything about them seemed to random, for it to be any real process of thought behind it. And if they did remember, then why were they attacking. Plus, if they were able truly able to think, then why weren’t they showing any emotions at all. Surely you would have some sort of emotion, whether it was joy or remorse, when you killed and were aware of it.. No?

 

It became a fight between if’s, maybe’s and logic.

 

After the area was cleared he did do his usual approval of it, telling them job well done, but none of them really felt it behind their cheers and smiles. It was a job done, and nothing more than that. Another job done, solely to secure their future on the base.

 

it was then, when he realized how devastating the news about the nightwalkers had been on not only Anna’s team, but probably on every single one of the raiders, on everybody who were connected to the war. Including himself. And it ate him up to see them struggling, without him knowing how to lead them through it. It was his job, and they all depended on him to guide them through whatever obstacles they met on their road through the darkness, and usually he was quick on calculating what needed to be done, how they should get it done. They had always been able to depend on him for answers and solutions. But here he was, failing badly, with no answers for them at all. And not only that, he had also neglected them in this time of need, by goofing around on the base, instead of being where he should have been. Not that he regretted all the time he had put into Amy, or Daichi for that matter. If he had to be honest about it, he probably had needed and craved that more than they ever had. It was Daichi and Amy that had done something for him, nobody else could have done. Not the other way around.. Or so he told himself. No, he didn’t regret any of his decision, and he knew he had hardly just been goofing around. The only thing he regretted, was his own lack of capability to be everywhere at the same time. That he hadn’t been able see what was right in front of him, while he was busy looking elsewhere. But that’s the cruel thing about it all, isn’t it. Life is what happens, while you’re busy looking everywhere else, and then it just hits you straight in the face like a big boulder and you can’t help but wonder why you didn’t see it, before it being too late.

 

Sitting in the back of the truck, as they drove around scouting for a place to set up their camp for the night, he wondered if it was even possible for him to maintain what he had with Daichi, and Amy for that matter, while not letting it get in the way of him doing his job. He hadn’t had a single doubt in him, when he saw their faces. But right now, all he felt was that he somehow would end up neglecting one of them. They had fought endless battles to raise their base to the level it had now. He guessed that was why he had felt secure enough to let go a little. But when he looked around him now, far away from everything on the base, the truth was staring at him mockingly. The fight, nor the war was over yet. They still had a very, very long road to go.

 

Apparently, Ren had spotted the mix of doubting, fearful, sad and confused expressions that had showed on his face without him even being aware of it. Out of nowhere, at least it seemed like that to him, the blonde had pressed his knuckles against his shoulder with a gentle smile. “Don’t do that to yourself, captain.”

 

“Hm.. Do what?”

 

“Whatever you’re thinking to trash yourself or deny yourself the slightest happiness. Stop it.”

 

“What makes you think, I’m thinking something like that.”

 

“I know you better than you give me credit for.” Ren just shrugged, scouting around the area.

 

The captain sighed heavily, and pointed towards an old convenience store. “I didn’t mean it like that.. That place might be good. The roof seems to be flat and accessible, and it’s decently sized.”

 

Ren looked towards the store with a judging look, before he nodded and knocked twice on the window of the truck to let Sora know they had found an acceptable spot. “You’re not trash, just human. And if any of us deserves a little bit of happiness, it’s you.” He jumped out of the truck, the captain following right after him, heading towards the store. “Things might be a little bad right now, but it will get better. You’re only blaming yourself because it’s the easiest thing to do.”

 

The captain grabbed one of the blonde’s katanas with a raised brow, and kicked the door to the store in. “I know I’m human, you don’t have to state the obvious. But humans makes mistakes. There’s nothing wrong with that, but my mistakes just happens to come with a little more expensive price.” He waited for the other to enter, before he followed, looking around the seemingly empty store. “And I hardly consider it the easiest thing to do in this matter. I’d like to say it isn’t my fault that you’ve been dealing with this out here alone, while I was playing the fun games with Daichi, without thinking about if it was an appropriate time for that sort or not.. But that’s not the case.”

 

The blonde just hummed and moved towards the back of the store. The place had obviously already been raided, if not by them, then by some other group. It looked like there had been quite a fight in it not too long ago either. “But it isn’t your fault any of these things is happening. It’s always easier to blame yourself for the bad things, when there’s no one else to blame. Uh, look!” He beamed as he picked up a can of vanilla soda from the floor, that had escaped the unknown group, completely ignoring the nightwalker that thought it was sneaking up on him.  “We’re not children, captain, and we’re coping the best we can. There’s never a good time for anything fun when you’re a captain, that’s just how cruel it is. Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make time for it anyways, or that you should feel bad about it afterwards.”

 

The captain rolled his eyes at the other, sneaking up behind the nightwalker from the other side of the store, just to cut the head off of it in a quick swing with the blade. Strange brain activity or not, they were still pretty dumb when they weren’t in groups. “I know you’re not children, but I still can’t push away my responsibilities whenever I feel like it. Can we possibly talk about this later?” He blinked as the blonde held the soda towards him with a bright smile. “..Finders keeper, but thanks for the offer. It’s been a long day, Ren. I just wanna set up the camp and rest.” He moved towards the back of the store again and waved a hand. “Go back to the others. I’ll go up on the roof and make sure it’s fine, so just wait for my signal.”

 

Ren shrugged with one shoulder, though became a little worried when the other didn’t accept his gift. “Sure.. Whatever you want, captain.” He watched him uncertain a bit, but nodded slowly, and also did as he was told. When he got back outside again, Sora stood lazily leaned up against the truck, with the rest of the team. Lowly chatting back and forth, but still observant to whatever could be lurking at them, though the sun had started to rise and the nightwalker’s activity decreased with it. There’s was still the danger of other survivors to look out for.

 

“So, it seems good?” The commander yawned, expecting Ren to be the one to give them the green light.

 

Ren shook his head and looked towards the building with an uneasiness painted all over him. “The captain went to check the rest on his own. He’s gonna signal us whenever it’s good.”

 

“That’s.. Strange, even for him. We’re not supposed to go anywhere alone, safety in numbers and all that.” Michael mumbled while he stared towards the roof.

 

Kiana nodded slightly but didn’t say anything. Ryuu who sat on the truck, quickly wrote down on his notepad and handed it towards Ren. Ren smiled a bit when he saw the words, but shook his head. “No, I don’t think it was too early for him, Ryuu. He just seems worried. I don’t know.. He looked very angry and guilty. Sad maybe?” Ren sighed and rubbed his arm.

 

“Well.. Maybe it’s not so weird after all. He’s sort of the only one who hasn’t cracked at some point yet.” Kiana then offered.

 

Sora rolled his head in order to relax it, causing cracking sounds to be heard, which caused the mute at his side to cringe. “True. He’s been on the frontlines since day one. Hell, he made them. Maybe this little break of his finally made him sna-“ interrupted by the smack to his head by Tom who stared annoyed at him. “… Snap. What the hell Tom, why di-“

 

“It sounds disgusting.” Tom once again cut the commander off before he could complain, while patting Ryuu calmly on the head, having the grateful mute smiling widely back at him.

 

“You’re a nuisance.. I’m starting to consider swapping tanks with Dave.”

 

“Oh? Then you’ll have to swap DD’s too, since Ren doesn’t work with anybody but me and the cap. But Dave seems like a much more intelligent commander anyways, so I won’t mind.”

 

“Can I swap to Dave’s team too?” The female of the team hummed while stretching her back in a yawn that made her assets more than visible to the commander.

 

And the commander surely enjoyed the presented view. “Kiana, you wound me.. And don’t think too highly of yourself, Ren doesn’t work with anyone but the cap. Ugly truth is, I got a tank-less DD, and a DD-less tank. How the hell our team even works is a freaking miracle. Must be because of your wonder of a commander.”

 

“Stop staring at her boobs, or we’ll soon find out how much of a wonder you are without eyes.” Michael added coldly and stepped closer to the female, who swung her arms around his neck joyfully, squishing the guy close to her mentioned assets.

 

“Oh, he can stare all he wants. I know you’ll keep him in a safe distance!” She chimed, while Michael had nothing but a big smirk on his face as she rubbed her breasts against his face, causing a scoffing commander.

 

“That’s like showing food to a hungry animal, but not letting him eat, you damn-” Once again interrupted, the commander’s gaze quickly turned towards the roof as something fell down towards them in the corner of his eye with a certain someone yelling from the top off his lungs from the rooftop.

 

“FUCK OFF YOU FREAKSHOW!”

 

But before any of them could react, Ren had already sent a bullet straight into its head with a blank look on his face, as it dropped dead and hard to the ground, and the captain suddenly appeared on the roof screaming furiously at the body of it.

 

“THE HELL YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST HIDE IN A CRATE LIKE THAT AND JUMPSCARE PEOPLE, YOU GRADE A ASSHOLE! I HATED JUMPING JACKS AS A KID, I AM SO NOT IN THE MOOD FOR THAT SHIT RIGHT NOW! REN, STEPDANCE ON IT’S FUCKING HEAD, THAT’S AN ORDER!!”

 

“Did.. He just kick a nightwalker of the roof.. For being rude?” Kiana whispered in shock.

 

“You tell me, I had boobs in my face.” Michael mumbled, causing the female to blush smilingly as she let him go.

 

“Sorry about that.”

 

All while Ren tilted his head as he watched the still frantic shouting captain, cursing the nightwalker straight back to the hellhole it came from. Wondering if he should obey the strange commands. “.. He’s scared of jumping jacks?”

 

“How is it up there, captain?!” Sora demanded to know after he had shook the shock out of his brain enough to form the words.

 

The captain disappeared for a moment, leaving the very confused raiders there to wait. But they didn’t wait long, before 5 more crates flew from the roof, making them jump to the sides in order not to be hit by any of them.

 

“What the hell captain!” Sora yelled back to the roof, where the captain showed up again.

 

“All good now!” He just replied and showed them a thumbs up.

 

“He seems pretty normal to me. His nerves on his sleeves, maybe. But other than that he seems fine.” Tom said while moving away from Ryuu who had used him as a shield. “You alright there?” He asked the medic, not seemingly to be bothered by it. The mute nodded with a thankful smile, and jumped down from the truck to as soon as the commander looked towards them, seeming tired of his life.

 

“I don’t know what to think of him right now, but he sure as hell don’t seem sad or guilty. But I guess that was a signal, so time to unload the supplies and set up the camp. Remember to secure your vehicles. Whoever gets theirs stolen won’t be getting a ride back home.” Sora sighed and started grapping boxes from the van, handing them out to his team.

 

“Yes sir!”

 

Up on the roof the captain started to calm down a bit after the scare from the jumping jack prank the nightwalker had pulled on him. He took a deep breath and looked towards the sky for a bit, as the sun stood higher on it. Until he got the disturbed by the sound of a young female voice, who call out to him through his walkie. He quickly grabbed it. “Amy, is that you?”

 

“Uncle said you weren’t here, why didn’t you say goodbye?!”

 

He sighed a bit, but couldn’t help but smile at the same time. “I’m sorry, little pie. We had to go sort of quickly, and you were already put to bed. I didn’t want to disturb you or the other kids. But you sure are up early this morning, did you have a nightmare?”

 

The girl mumbled something he couldn’t make out over the noise of the walkie, and he raise a brow. “Say that again, but louder. The walkie is noisy, so if you don’t speak clearly, I won’t be able to hear you.”

 

“Uncle showed me your dot!”

 

“Pretty cool, huh? Did he also tell you what it means?” He smiled.

 

“He did. He says blue means you’re okay. And it’s blue, so that means you’re okay, right?”

 

“That’s right, sweetie.”

 

“Then why do you sound so weird?”

 

_**You really can’t hide anything from that girl, even over a radio, can you..** _

He thought to himself and rubbed his face with the other hand.

 

“Do you know what a jumping jack is, Amy?”

 

“Yeah, uncle gave me one for my birthday once when I was really little.”

 

“Well, a nightwalker just thought it would be fun to play one of those, and I just freaked me out a little. But I’m fine.”

 

“Really?! What happened?”

 

“Well it.. jumped out of a crate, and then I kicked it.. Off the roof. And then Ren shot it, so we’re fine.”

 

“Wauw.. But why are you on a roof and looking in crates?”

 

The captain nodded towards the others as they appeared with all the supplies and started to wave them around, guiding them where they should put what. “This roof is gonna work as our camp, you know the nightwalkers aren’t really active during the day. Is your uncle there with you, love?”

 

“He is sitting here with Julian and Hiro, and Youta is here too! They’re saying you’ll be gone for a whole week..”

 

“Yeah, that’s right.. This is a long trip, but there really is a lot we need to get done here. Winter is coming up too, and we need to prepare for that.”

 

“… So you can’t come home early.. Like tomorrow?”

 

“I’m sorry, but no. I have to work, Amy. These idiots are lost without me.”

 

“That’s true, Amy. We don’t know what we would do without our psyco-captain throwing crates and nightwalkers in our faces.” Sora said sweetly into the captain’s walkie as he walked past him to unload the rest from the vehicles.

 

“Language!” The captain barked after him.

 

“You threw the nightwalker at them?!”

 

“Not on purpose, sweetie. That was an accident. Look, I can’t talk for long. I need to speak with Youta, and after that we still have some things to figure out here before we rest. You also have to go down and get some breakfast, and then get ready for school. I’m sure Midori would love to help you with your hair, if you as her nicely.”

 

The girl mumbled something again, and the captain sighed a little, as he perfectly well could guess what it was about this time. “No buts, little miss. You’re a big girl, and I know you can do this even if I’m not around. Nothing would make me prouder than coming home in a week, to see that you have proven exactly that. I’ll even get you a little something in the end of the week, if your uncle can tell me how well you’ve done. Alright?”

 

“… Yeah. I’ll just really miss you. But I can do that. Just promise you’ll come back home as soon as you can!”

 

“I promise.. I’ll miss you too.. Listen, why don’t you go to Midori after school instead of to the activity center? I’m sure she’d appreciate your help in the infirmary.”

 

“Really?! I can do that?”

 

“Sure. You’re old enough, and good with that stuff already. And I’m sure Midori would love your company. You’ll make a really fine doctor one day, but you still have a lot to learn, so make sure to listen to everything Midori tells you. And don’t cause her too much trouble. A little is fine though, keep her on her toes for me.”

 

“Thank you so much, I promise I won’t disappoint you!”

 

“You could never disappoint me. We’re about to set up the tents now, so I gotta talk to Youta. You go get ready for school, and don’t be late. Have a nice day, little pie.”

 

“Mhm, you too. Talk to you later, bye!”

He smiled weakly as the radio went silent on the other side. Only looking up at the activity around him, as Ren approached him with a tent in his arms. “Mind sharing, captain? With Sora too, of course. Michael is gonna share with Kiana, and Ryuu is gonna stay with Tom. Kiana is setting up the fire to prepare the food, so that should be ready soon.”

 

The captain shook his head and sighed a bit. “Sure, but you’ll be the middle spoon. The last thing I need is Daichi bugging me about me spooning with Sora for an entire week once we get back. And that sounds good, thank you, Ren.”

 

“He really is a possessive one, isn’t he.”

 

“Only because he doesn’t know Sora is crushing on Midori, I think. Can’t really blame him though, I don’t even think Midori knows.”

 

“Why don’t you tell him then?”

 

“Well.. As odd as it may sound, I like the possessiveness.. A little bit.”

 

Ren tilted his head and smiled warmly. “It does sound.. Odd. But he is good for you, that’s for sure. I think someone like him showed up just at the right time.”

 

“What do you mean with that?”

 

Ren shook his head. “Nothing.. He makes you think about you, Captain. You’ve always been so busy with everyone else. So please, don’t feel bad about it. Don’t feel bad for needing it, that’s all I’m saying. Don’t be mad at me either, please.”

 

“…” The captain stared silently at the blonde, with a slight blush lighting up in his cheeks. He said nothing, but waved him away as Youta’s voice finally called him on the walkie, and Ren just chuckled while walking away to set up the tent. “Yeah, captain here. That took you a while, Youta.”

 

“Yes, sorry about that, captain.” The older responded sounding sort of tired. But the captain guessed he probably hadn’t slept since the raids’ departure, since it was normal for the vice to stay alert until he was sure the raid had arrived safely and set up a camp on the first day. At least when the captain participated in them.

 

“That’s alright. Is Daichi still there?”

 

“No, he decided to escort Amy to the dining hall for breakfast. Did you wish to speak to him?”

 

“No. But I don’t think he needs to hear any of this, it would just end up worrying him too much. Why didn’t you tell me things were this bad?”

 

“What things to be exact, captain?”

 

“Well, the.. Raiders.. Were you aware of how their state is? I’m here with Sora’s team, even. If our best team is trembling, then I can only imagine how the other teams are doing.”

 

“Ah, yes. I am quite aware. I just don’t see what other actions we’re supposed to be taking, other than what you have already done.”

 

“Well why didn’t you inform me, you melonhead! Talking to them clearly wasn’t enough, and at this rate it’s only going to get worse. They might not be screwing up on their raids now, but they sure as hell will eventually if we ignore this issue, just like.. Anna..” He mumbled the last part bitterly. Taking a few second to breathe and collect himself properly, before he continued. “ Other than that they seem to be able to think up traps, have we learned anything new about the nightwalkers?”

 

“No, I’m afraid not. We have tried to figure out how advanced traps they’re able to pull off, but so far it seems to be the most simple kinds only. As for their attacks and how they seem to be working together, it appears to be rather random. And well, then we know that fewer and fewer of them walks around solo, but we believe that has more to do with food sources than anything else. I don’t think they’re staying away from the main road because of fear either, I highly doubt they even know what fear is. I think it’s merely because their numbers are decreasing, that it seems like they’re avoiding it.”

 

“… So, they aren’t actually avoiding it, it just looks like it to us, combined with this fear we have of them being able to think.. I have to agree with you on that one, after what I’ve seen today. Everything they do seems instinctual just like in the beginning. If they really had learned to fear us, they wouldn’t approach us when we aren’t on the main road either. But they do, and it doesn’t seem to matter if they’re alone or in a group when doing so. Not even their traps seems to be thought through, I just found one randomly hiding in a crate on a random roof.” The captain said lowly, even though he had already moved away to a more private corner on the roof. He sat down on the edge with a leg hanging down against the wall. “We might have given them too much credit.. But rather that than underestimating them.”

 

“Yes, we heard that. Sounded very interesting. So what actions do you suggest we do about our little raiders then, captain?”

 

“I’m.. Not sure, but we have to do something, Youta. I don’t like this one bit. I’m not saying that they gotta get rid of their emotions, but they have to be confident while they’re out here. Hesitation and doubt is a worse enemy than the nightwalkers. They need a clear head.”

 

“Well confirmation on the nightwalkers being nothing human whatsoever would be the best answer for them without doubt, but it’s not like we can pull that off.”

 

The captain sighed frustrated and nodded to himself. “We can’t exactly get into the nightwalkers heads.. I have my own doubts about them now, if I have to be honest, though every logical sense of me tells me it’s wrong.. This is a really tough one, Youta..”

 

“We’ll figure it out, once you’re back. But that aside, are you alright, captain? You sound kinda off.”

 

“I’m fine. Long day, that’s all. Someone pulled me out of bed very suddenly.”

 

“And very loudly, I heard. How’s your butt?”

 

“… Who told you?”

 

“Michi. He spotted you in dining hall and apparently, you were walking really funny.”

 

“My butt is fine.” The captain answered him quickly but coolly. “Back to the important topic, please. The reclaiming of Area 28 was a success. So you can send another team to raid it when you see they’re ready. We plan on taking on Area 8 tonight, and Area 3 tomorrow.”

 

“Hah.. Why, isn’t it better to take the 40’s first? We haven’t been in Area 45 yet, which I find odd now that I look at the map. 8 is closer to the edge of the city, and 3 is well.. Outside it.” Youta questioned him.

 

The captain chewed on it a bit. He hadn’t exactly ever given the older any reason as to why he avoided that area. Or rather, no one had questioned it yet. But of course, the older had spent much more time getting into the work that the captain had kept to himself until now, so it was only natural he would spot these little things and find it odd. He was actually quite impressed that he had managed to avoid that specific part of the city for so long without anyone batting an eye. They’ve been close enough to that area plenty of times before. It was only a matter of time, and he knew it. But still, he wished to keep it locked away for as long as he possibly could. So he decided to lie, hoping it would satisfy the older for now, and that the older didn’t know the area already. “I’m aware where the areas are, thank you. And there’s nothing in 45. I went through that Area in the first week after the world ended, and it’s nothing but a housing area. It was close to that area that I found Hiro and Ren.”

 

“Oh, so you guys knew each other from before?”

 

“Uh.. What? No, I didn’t know them, I just happened to find them. Anyways, the others almost finished up the camp, so I gotta run. I’ll have Sora give Hiro our coordinates in a bit, once we’ve settled down.”

 

“Sure thing, cap. Shall I tell Daichi you love and miss him with lots of kisses?”

 

“How about you go shoot yourself in the foot, old man.”

 

“Rumors tells me he’s older than me.”

 

“Mh, that might be true.” The captain said with a voice sweet as cotton candy. “But he sure has a lot less wrinkles, and all of his hair is still intact on his head. And you should see what he hides under his shirt, it pure yummyleciousness, and by all that is sacred I swear to the heavens that he knows how to use his tongue.“

 

“Seriously?!” Daichi’s voice suddenly was the one to answer him this time, while the sound of Youta’s deep laughter rang in the background.

 

“What? I’m complimenting you. Are you embarrassed, Daichi? From 1 to 10, how hard are you blushing right now? And when did you join us?”

 

“I don’t think there’s a number existing to describe that, captain.” Youta exploded in laughter, having the captain smile rather satisfied.

 

“You really are the devil.. And I just got back. To this..” Was Daichi’s only answer, but Eiki could perfectly fine imagine what sort of face his older lover was making. So very, very far away from him. Or so it suddenly felt. He shook his head over it though, since it weren’t even that long ago that they parted.

 

“Most likely, yeah. I’m sorry about what you had to walk into, but I meant every word with love?” The captain said calmly, though he had a strange silly smile on his face. “I’d love to chat with you more, Daichi, but I really have to go. Take good care of Amy, and don’t slack on your training. And Youta, don’t let him slack. I also need you to check up on the young ones Dave is in charge of last week I saw at least two who seems to be more than ready to join a team.”

 

“I don’t know what slacking means anymore. Remember to get some sleep.”

 

“Don’t you worry, cap. Do you remember the names?” Youta chuckled over something the captain could only guess Daichi had mumbled about.

 

“Of course. Ian, he’s about to turn 17 I believe, and is in training as a tank. The other is Caleb, you know, the little one. He’s only 15, but he has been ready since he was 14 if we have to be honest.. And with the way he works with Ian, there’s just no doubt that those two belongs together as a pair.”

 

“And who’s team would they be joining?”

 

“A new team. Listen, if you could join in on the raid that sets for raiding Area 28, we can meet up on the camp and have a meeting about it. With Anna out as a commander, we have raiders who are teamless and inactive, and we are one team short. We need more teams, not less. Actually, why don’t you grab those raiders instead of taking a team who could use the rest. I know thing’s has been hard on them, but sitting around and dwelling in it forever won’t do them any good. Be as tough as you have to.”

 

“Understood. I’ll see you later then. I’ll get the team together and prepare to leave, so we can meet you before the sunset. That should give us enough time to have a chat before you go to the next area.”

 

“It’s settled then. Have a nice day, you two.” The captain smiled shortly, before turning the walkie off, so no more interruptions would disturb him for now.

 

Ren was sitting at the place where Kiana was building up her bonfire, while he opened the cans with beans she had decided were good enough for dinner. Probably too exhausted to even try to make the highly uninteresting food appear more tempting, but who could blame her. Even if it hadn’t been one of the most eventful nights, they could still tell the nightwalkers really started to push them to their limits. Not that it was any wonder. It wasn’t like they could develop super-strength or any of the sorts, like their dead enemy had. They were all way past exhausted, and more or less running on autopilot, as the captain sat down next to Ren with the map to plan the exact moves through the week, while Sora was busy setting up their tent not more than a few steps away from them. Next to theirs, Tom was the one to set up the tent he and the mute medic would share, while Ryuu found a couple of painkillers for the poor captain, and made sure to refill what had been used in his med kit from earlier. Even though it hadn’t been much. Just a couple of band-aid’s  here and there, and a single gauze that was now wrapped around Tom’s wrist  as he had strained it while saving the medic from a fall. Even though he sure did receive plenty of scolding looks from the mute, the giant just smiled fondly back at him, silently stating that the pain had been more than worth it.

 

The only real noise that were to be heard was from Michael, who hummed a melody from a song the captain could swear he knew, but weren’t able to name, as he as well focused on setting up the tent right. While most people quickly got the hang of setting up tents, Michael always seemed to struggle with it, no matter how many times he previously had done it. Kiana, his usual tent-partner, didn’t seem to mind much though, as she was the usual choice of field-chef anyways and the poor guy usually had the tent finished before the food was done.

 

“Say, Ren..” The captain mumbled, almost so silently that the blonde didn’t hear him.

 

He did though, but didn’t look up from the cans that kept his fingers busy. “What is it?”

 

“Youta said something, and now I can’t seem to get it out of my head.”

 

“Ask whatever you need, captain.”

 

“Need is a big word.. But do you remember the day I ran into you and Hiro?”

 

“Sure, how could I forget. We were trapped in an alley and you jumped in from nowhere and went complete bananas on those poor nightwalkers with an axe.  Quite a sight, I don’t think anyone there would be able to ever forget the look you had on your face.. Also the day I made a note to remember, not to make the mistake of really pissing you off.”

 

“… You’re welcome. Did you and Hiro know each other from before that?”

 

“Sure.” The blonde answered him casually. “He was a friend of my older brother. Known him since I was.. 5 I think. We weren’t this close before obviously. I was just the annoying little brother who constantly wanted to get in on their fun, but usually got kicked out of it. They did bring me to the summer festival when I was around 9 though. Hiro won a goldfish for me. I think that was when I started crushing on him.”

 

“Really? I didn’t even know there was something between you guys, before people started chatting about you doing it in the laundry room..”

 

“Mh. He said he didn’t want the goldfish himself, ‘cause it weren’t as cute as I was. But I don’t think he remembers. And don’t feel bad, I had no idea about his feelings either. We were just.. Working on one of his projects one night, and we ended up sitting really close. I told him that seeing how smart he is, sometimes makes me jealous.. And then he sort of just kissed me out of nowhere.”

 

The captain smiled a little over the story. Suddenly ashamed over not taking any interest in the blonde before, considering how close they were. He really didn’t know much about him at all. “What makes you think that he wouldn’t remember?”

 

“He was what.. 20? back then. He was just an adult wanted a kid to have a great time, unless you’re suggesting he’s the type to walk around and flirt with tiny children.”

 

“Of course not. I’m just saying, that he doesn’t strike me as one who copes with children very well. I mean, he obviously adores Julian now, but you can’t deny he had some bonding issues going on. I don’t think it’s impossible that he thought of you as someone special back then.”

 

“Well.. Now that you mention it, I guess that’s true. I never had any issues with him growing up. He was always very kind and didn’t seem to mind spending time with me.”

 

“Big brother was the one who minded then, huh?”

 

“My brother didn’t like me all that much, and I guess it made him hate me even more when I stole Hiro’s attention.”

 

Eiki tilted his head and laid the map down on the ground, placing the cup of coffee Kiana had handed him when he joined them, on top of it. “Why would your brother hate you? You’re a little odd, but I fail to see how you could make anyone hate you. Even Daichi seems rather fond of you now.”

 

Ren looked up at him, pushing the last opened can over to the rest, and smiled gently. “I don’t know. I just know I was alone a lot, and I weren’t able to make any friends. It felt like people kept forgetting I was even there.”

 

“I don’t understand how anyone could possibly forget about you.”

 

 “Hn.. Do you remember me, captain?”

 

“… We knew each other from before?”

 

“I suppose, in a way. Not personally, but we have met a few times, a long time ago. I lived in Area 45 too, and Hiro would sometimes bring me to the playground in the park there, when my brother and parents weren’t home. And you and your friends hanged out there..”

 

“I can’t believe I didn’t know.. I just.. Are you sure we’ve met, I don’t recall any children ever being in the park while we were there.”

 

“That’s because you arrived later than they did. They would terrorize us or beat us up, so we would run to the adults and then they would take us home. They made it look like we were just clumsy kids though, so of course.. Hiro never believed me either. The first times I saw you, was when we were on our way home. The last day Hiro took me to the park, they attacked me while I was on the swing. Hiro saw it, and ran to us all yelling at them which ended with them standing around me fighting with each other. And then you showed up.. Earlier than usual.”

 

“Wait, that kid that fell off the swings was you? Unbelievable..”

 

“I didn’t fall off them, captain.. Your friends really weren’t nice at all. Hiro reported them after that.”

 

The captain rubbed his forehead with a heavy sigh and shook his head. “Well.. Now it makes sense why they insisted on finding a new place to hang out. If he reported them, then why weren’t I reported as well? I was there, nothing could prove I was innocent.”

 

“I told Hiro you weren’t even there any of the times it happened? Which you weren’t.. You really didn’t know about this?”

 

“I knew my friends were rather.. Troublesome.. But they never did something like that when I was with them. If I had known, I would have done something about it.”

 

“No, no. I mean.. You really don’t remember, not even Hiro?”

 

“I…” The captain looked towards the sky and the sun that kept rising higher and higher. “I’d like to say I do. But I don’t. I’m really sorry, Ren..”

 

The blonde chuckled and patted his shoulder. “I’m sure Hiro don’t mind, it was a long time ago after all.”

 

“Nah, I mean.. About what they did. I’m sorry I didn’t put the pieces together. It’s all so obvious now, and I could have stopped it.”

 

“Stop it, I never blamed you. The parents and Hiro could have stopped it sooner as well, so they are more to blame since they were actually aware of it.”

 

The captain smiled a bit and stroked his fingers through the blonde hair. “You sure are something, Ren.. Back to your brother, why do you think he hated you?”

 

“Well I don’t really think anyone liked me much when I was little. I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong. I just don’t remember anybody being somewhat kind like Hiro was it, or you. Most of the time I just felt like I was in the way of everybody’s happiness. As I said earlier, I felt like they rather just forget that I existed.” The blonde responded basically purring, cuddling closer to the older.

 

“Me?” He asked, looking at the blonde with a raised brow. “Well.. I’m sure you were a cute kid. And impossible to forget, if I had really known you. If they chose to ignore you, it was their loss. They got no idea of how amazing you are..”

 

“Yeah. That day at the swings, you were the one who helped me up from the ground, and scolded your friends and Hiro for not helping me up sooner. I think that was also why he didn’t report you too. I remember he was quite mad about being scolded too. But that made me really happy.” The blonde smiled at his last words and leaned closer to him. “Thank you for saying that. Hiro says the same..”

 

“.. I do remember that.” What he didn’t remember, was the kid he had lifted up from the ground, showing any signs of happiness at all. Actually, he didn’t even remember the kid crying either. Either something was very wrong with his memory, or, he needed to have a chat with Hiro about this later. “Hiro is right.. Don’t thank me.”

 

Neither of them noticed being joined by the others, that silently sat around them listening to the conversation attentively, except for Michael who had decided to go to the edge of the roof, watching the grounds. It was the first time both the blonde and the captain revealed a deeper part of their past, so the rest of the team couldn’t help but just sit there in awe, drinking their coffee, and Kiana heating up the beans while she smiled fondly over the two. Glad seeing them reunited again, seemingly even closer than they were before.  But then Sora finally opened his mouth, after Ryuu had shown him his notebook with a demanding look. “Ryuu.. Wants to know what happened then, when you guys met again. I’m guessing he means after getting to safety?”

 

Ryuu nodded quickly and looked towards the cuddling pair with an excited expression. Tom smiled calmly and poked the mute gently on the neck. “It’s not story time, Ryuu. Maybe they don’t feel like sharing. I’m not even sure we were supposed to hear that other stuff, so let’s not go all demanding on them.”

 

“I don’t mind.” The captain said, to everyone’s surprise. “.. What?”

 

Ren smiled warmly, as Sora shook his head in a mild laughter, while Tom, Ryu and Kiana just stared in a frown.

 

“Nothing, cap. But you haven’t exactly given off any vibe that tells people, that you don’t mind sharing things like that before. You’re real friendly and all that, but you sort of shut people out, you know. You’re a loner, have been all the time we’ve known you. You can’t blame people for being surprised.” Sora stated, drinking the rest of his coffee.

 

“I think that Daichi guy might have been really healthy for you.” Kiana hummed, once again smiling fondly over the boys.

 

Ryuu waved his arms to get the others attention, and then nodded towards the captain with an asking look written all over his face, as to remind him of his question.

 

“Right. Sorry, Ryuu. Uhm.. Let’s see. After we killed the nightwalkers surrounding Ren’s group, we fled to a store roof like this one.. And.. Then I got some of them to help me get some stuff from the store, to set up a camp so we could wait the night out..” The captain said thoughtfully scratching his cheek.

 

“You’re a lousy storyteller, captain.” Ren mumbled with an unimpressed look. Looking towards Ryuu with a wide smile, he then decided to tell the story from his back then very young view. “He was sooo cool! We were totally trapped in that alley, and Hiro had dropped me in a dumpster cause we sure we were all going to die. I mean, I was tiny, and Hiro isn’t exactly the greatest fighter. The other people in our group weren’t too impressive either. And right as it looked like we were dead meat for sure, Eiki flew in and started chopping in them with that axe like a total mental case!”

 

Tom chuckled over the mute’s obvious excitement and patted him on his head, before he could even write his question down. “And then what?”

 

“Then he yelled at us that we needed to pull our shit together and get out of there. All the noise from our struggle were attracting more of them, so he made us jump in through this window in the building, and he made Hiro drag these planks with us. Then he commanded us up on the roof, and then we used the planks to move from roof to roof, until we reached the store!”

 

“Well, I couldn’t exactly move around with you guys on the streets.. I could have with the adults, maybe, but your group had children, so I couldn’t risk it? They were everywhere, we had to go like that. Just logic..” The captain sighed over the dramatic tale performed by the blonde. But the blonde just stood up in his best captain expression and pointed towards the door to the store.

 

“And then, he started casting orders around like a boss! You three, get that door open so we can get supplies from downstairs before anyone else gets to them!” Then he pointed towards Ryuu and Tom, with a hand on his hip. “And you two, check if everyone’s alright! If not, let me know what we need to help them and we’ll get it.” Then he grabbed the commander’s face between his hands. “And stop crying, kid, they’ll just find us if we don’t keep it quiet.” Turning his head back to Ryuu he shook his head, imitating the captain’s scolding voice. “Get your filthy paws away from that wound, you idiot! Rip a piece of that pretty shirt of yours to and use that to stop the bleeding instead, survival is more important than fashion!”

 

“Did I really say all that..?”

 

“You sure did, captain.” Ren nodded. “Right before you flew down with the others to empty the store.”

 

“Your memory is impressive..”

 

Sora laughed amused by the theatric story, just like Tom and Kiana, while Ryuu clapped his hands a few times excitedly in admiration towards the very embarrassed captain, who just sat there, enjoying the lifted mood group. No matter the reason, he definitely thought of it as better than the mood they had showed during the night. Which in his mind, only lead to the conclusion that the problem was the job alone, and not really within their minds. But how he was supposed to prove that the nightwalkers weren’t anything more but empty dead shells, he didn’t still know.

He really, really needed to figure it out somehow.

 

“And that was how we found our new captain. After that we just did whatever Eiki said, and he taught the grown-ups how to shield us while defending themselves if we ever got in trouble on the move. Though he did most of the fighting on his own really.” Ren continued, sitting down next to the captain.  “He found more survivors and dragged them back to our group, and pretty soon we had our first raid team forming, as we grew in numbers.”

 

“Sora and I joined you guys around then, I think.” Kiana nodded slowly.

 

“That’s right. Nobu and Midori as well. I remember the relief of finding an actual doctor.” The captain smiled warmly at the memory.

 

“When the group grew too big, we started to move out of the city. That’s when we met Youta’s group.” Ren looked towards the captain with a smirk. “He and cap had some serious confrontations.”

 

“He shouldn’t have called me a too-little-too-young-of-a-fart to captain anything. It was rude.” The captain mumbled, but then turned his attention to Ryuu with gentle eyes. “You should now the rest of the story. You were in Youta’s group, with Michi. Right?”

 

Ryuu nodded quickly and smiled widely, as he remembered the day where the two teams got together. Then Michael’s voice yawned behind them. “Then humor me, I didn’t join you guys till much later. How come you ended up as captain over both groups, instead of Youta?”

 

“That got decided the day I joined them, I believe. The school they used as base got attacked by a scary big group of nightwalkers.” Tom answered him.

 

Sora nodded firmly, and accepted the cup of beans from Kiana, as she started to hand them out. “It did. And both groups were all over the place, having one captain shouting orders, and another captain doing the same but opposite orders. We lost many good people that night because of that. It was ugly.”

 

Michael smiled shortly and shook his head. “You can’t have two alphas leading one pack. It must have sucked joining their group right before an attack like that.”

 

“I didn’t. I just happened to pass by during the attack, when I heard a lot of screams and shooting going on, and decided to go and help if I could.  I had nothing to lose. It was a disaster. Bodies and nightwalkers everywhere, and people shooting in all directions without knowing who or what they hit. Chaotic running around without purpose. Right until captain finally shut Youta up, and ordered everybody out through an escape route he had found. That’s when Ryuu and I met. He was hiding in a locker, since he couldn’t run. I didn’t know of course, until the nightwalker’s attention to that locker caught mine. Turned out the little thing had twisted his ankle pretty badly.” Tom explained with a relaxed expression, as he too started to eat, with the mute lovingly starring up at him by the tale.

 

“Awrh, so you became his knight in the shiny armor and carried him out.” Kiana hummed sweetly, sitting down again.

 

“Princess-style and everything.” Tom nodded casually. “Been my princess ever since.”

 

This had the mute blush heavily, and the group broke out in a warm laughter, with the captain as the only exception, though he still smiled amused. “Keep it down guys. The nightwalkers might be inactive, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t around.” Already half finished with his cup of beans, he looked around at them. “Storyteller time aside. We’re going for Area 8 tonight, so make sure to get some rest. Michael and Kiana will take the first watch, Sora and I will take the next, and Ren and Tom will take the last.”

 

“I can’t leave Ryuu all alone, then he won’t sleep.” Tom shrugged, having the much tinier mute crawl onto his lap. “… See.”

 

“That’s true, cap. Our medic is stubborn like that.” Sora confirmed, earning a snort from Michael.

 

“No need to worry, Tom. I’ll be more than happy to play your replacement, if that will keep the medic happy. And asleep.” The captain said, as if it was normal and nothing out of the ordinary.

 

Kiana tilted her head with a smirk. “Whatever Daichi did to create this new chatty and cuddly captain, remind me to thank him. I like it!” She put her cup down and threw herself around the captain’s neck. “Cuddle with me too, pleeease!”

 

The captain held his cup up to save it from the attack, and looked at her with an empty expression. “That was an offer to nobody but Ryuu. Now, get off me. You got Michael, and if that’s not enough, I’m sure Sora has arms free.”

 

“Yeah, I’m forever alone. You people suck.” Sora sighed, before he lazily got up, scratching the back of his head. “Gonna head to bed then. I’ll be waiting for you, captain.” He hummed, as he disappeared into the tent.

 

“You’re gonna get disappointed.” The captain hummed back at him.

 

Kiana pouted, but left the captain quickly as Michael called her over with sigh. “Fiine, a more fun, but still a reserved captain, I get it, I get it.” She said, before Michael had a riffle placed in her hands.

 

The captain rolled his eyes, before turning them towards Ryuu again. “So what do you say, would that be alright?”

 

The mute looked up towards the giant he was currently using as a chair. Tom just smiled warmly back at him with a nod, before patting his head. “I think you should take the deal. It won’t get any safer, than cuddling with the captain himself.”

 

“And he’s good at cuddling too, I can vote for that.” Ren offered the mute, who looked considering at the three by their words.

 

Ryuu chewed on it for a few more seconds, before he nodded shyly towards the captain. Eiki got up on his feet with a gentle smile and a nod. “It’s a date. See you later then, Ryuu. You coming too, Ren?”

 

“Right, I’m the middle spoon. I’m coming.” Ren answered him, before he merely crawled towards the tent.

 

“That, or you deal with Daichi when we get home.”

 

“I am over excited to be the middle spoon!”

 

“Better.” The captain hummed, as he entered the tent, leaving his shoes outside. Ren quickly followed, and the two settled down on their sleeping bags, where the captain turned his walkie back on before laying it down to the side right next to where his head would be. “Wanna zip our bags together? It’ll be easier to stay warm like that.” He asked the blonde, who answered with a simple nod as he got out of his boots.

 

“Leaving me out in the cold, huh? Why must you be this cruel, what did I ever do to deserve this coldness!” Sora complained dramatically, while he got cozy in his own sleeping bag.

 

“Cause the captain don’t wanna risk being groped on while he tries to sleep?” Ren suggested brightly smiling, watching the captain while he zipped the sleeping bags together.

 

“Nah.” The captain said warmly, ruffling up in the blonde’s hair, before he got into the sleeping bag, and patted the spot to his side. “He just have serious  snoring issues, which I don’t want right in my ears, and you smell way better as well.”

 

“Ouch, you don’t need to be so honest about it, cap.” Sora chuckled lowly, watching the two as they got comfortable. Ren completely absorbed in the captain’s embrace, as they laid on their sides facing each other, the blonde rested his face close to the chest of the older. The sight of it were rather cute, so the commander just closed his eyes with a smile on his face.

 

The captain smirked shortly and shook his head. “No point in lying.” He let the blonde snuggle closer however he pleased, and folded his arms tightly around him once he seemed to have settled. Stroking the blonde hair back, he breathed content before closing his eyes. “Night..”

 

“Night, cap.” Sora mumbled, while Ren merely made a weak sound, as he already was drifting away.

 

Outside their tent, Tom and Ryuu had also found their way to theirs, while Michael and Kiana kept their watch over the camp, quietly chatting about everything and nothing at all.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mighty long chapter.. I'm sorry, I've been trying to shorten them, but I just.. I can't do it.. It took me so long to write it, cause it never felt done at all, and I'm just a huge garbage failure on short chapters in this story. Never planned for it to have such huge chapters every time, but then again, I don't plan shit of what's going on with it, so..
> 
> There's too much to tell, sue me ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Later that day, just a couple of hours before it got dark, Youta’s team found their way to the camp. The captain had yet to notice this though, as he were still inside Ryuu’s tent, functioning as the boy’s living teddy bear. He did hear movements from the outside of the tent, but no chattering, and so he didn’t pay much attention to it, finding it somewhat difficult to get up. So.. Yeah, even though he usually held the cuddling with others to a very exclusive amount of people, he couldn’t say he minded it at all. Ryuu hadn’t woken or done anything except for sleeping and demanding his body heat and presence. Compared to Youta or Ren, laying like that with the younger, were just as much of a bliss, as it were to cuddle with Daichi. Alright.. Maybe not just quite as much. But Ryuu still made it very hard for him to want to attempt to sneak out, just for a meeting.

Just.. He sighed a bit and shook his head with a smile, stroking his fingers through the younger’s chestnut brown hair. “This won’t do, Ryuu.. I really need to get out there, and talk to Youta.”

 

Earning nothing more but a disapproving hug from the other, the captain chuckled and closed his eyes for a bit. “And I was afraid Daichi or Amy might be keeping me from doing my job. Here it turns out, you’re the real culprit in that.. 5 more minutes only, I mean it..”

 

But only around two minutes managed to pass, before the blissful peace were disturbed.

“Oh, this is adorable. I was told you were babysitting the medic, but I didn’t imagine this. There’s never a camera around when you need one, is there.” Said a smirking Youta, as he stuck his head inside the tent. “Except for this polaroid one that I managed to snatch.”

 

“Wha-“ The captain didn’t get to finish, before a strong blitz surprised his eyes, leaving him seeing nothing but bright dots everywhere. “Where the hell did you get that thing?!”

 

Youta happily took the picture as the camera printed it out, and started waving it in the air. “At an electronic shop we passed by. Hiro demanded new watches for the new team, so we had to obey that of course, and then I came across this treasure.”

 

“Whatever, don’t walk around blinding people with it, you moron.”

 

“But I had to, look how cute you’re being.” The older said, handing him the photo.

 

But the captain only raised a brow, barely looking at it. “Ryuu might look extremely cute, but that is not an excuse for doing such a thing. Especially without asking for permission.”

 

“Oh, loosen up, grumpy-chan. It’s memories. One day you might look back at it and be glad I took it. You never know.”

 

“.. Give it to Tom or Ryuu instead. I don’t believe in that stuff. The only thing I got time for to look at, is the future and the present, not the past.”

 

“Very well, captain. Anyways, you might wanna get your lazy butt out of bed, I brought you a visitor.”

 

“Heh.. Who? Don’t tell me you dragged Amy out here, cause I will kill you.”

 

“Go see, and deal with it yourself.” Youta shrugged, ignoring the half-hearted threat, before he smiled and left the tent to join the group that were gathered by the bonfire again. He stretched his body lazily, then sat down next to Tom as Kiana handed cups of coffee around. Accepting the cup that got handed to him, he looked towards Daichi with a smirk, as he handed the photo to Tom. “He might not get too happy about this, you know. People going against clear orders of his aren’t exactly the thing he loves the most.”

 

Tom accepted the photograph of the cuddling medic and captain, and smiled impressed by the the image in his hands. “Damn. They sure look comfortable, I almost wanna go join them.”

 

“Well you’re too late for that, my friend.” Youta answered him. “They should be out in a few minutes.”

 

“Sigh. What a shame.”

 

Daichi looked towards his cup with a considering expression, though he lifted his eyes towards Ren when the boy sat down next to him. “Well.. Maybe. But it’s not like I’m really going against them.”

 

Ren nodded lightly and smiled towards the man. “I think it’s sweet of you. He does miss you already, so don’t take it too hard if he scolds you. He’s just worried about your safety after all. Can’t blame him for caring. And I’m sure he’ll calm down once you explain yourself. It’s you after all.”

 

Sora chuckled in a nod and glared towards the tent, where movements from both the captain and Ryuu became more hearable, letting them know they were both getting up. “He sure as hell ain’t so forgiving with a lot of what you pull off, if anyone else does it. No doubt about it.”

 

“Maybe.. I don’t need to be wrapped in bubbleplastic like that, though. I can make my own decisions. And I’m not incapable of protecting myself.” Daichi mumbled, looking towards the cup again.

 

“It’s not about that.” Ren said simply rejected his words. “As your almost lover, or boyfriend, or friend with benefits, or whatever you two crazy people are calling yourself.. I’m sure he already knows this, Daichi, he’s not trying to make less of you than what you are.”

 

Tom nodded in agreement to the blonde’s words, and met Daichi’s look with his. “Ren is right. Whatever you guys are, you need to stop mixing pleasure and responsibilities. You could afford that, if you had went for pretty much anyone else. But you went for our captain.”

 

“They’re right, Daichi. This thing between you, could just end up trapping him in a corner, he can’t afford to get trapped in. And I think it’s safe to say, no one here will allow that to happen.” Youta added with a serious look towards the guy.

 

Daichi raised a brow, looking at the ring of serious faces, that was aimed towards him. Even if they hadn’t said the words, the expressions he received was more than enough to tell him how strongly the raiders and the vice felt about protecting their captain on the matter. It hit him as ironic for a second. That something like that got them so tensed up and ready to fight, even though they had no issue letting their captain dance around with a group of nightwalkers. “I get it guys. It’s just easier said than done, you know.”

 

“Dating the captain will never get easy. But being the captain is probably even worse. I don’t know exactly what it’s like, but what I do know, is that he takes his job very seriously and always has. There’s plenty of people back on the base he could have been with since day one, but he isn’t, and I’m sure he has his reasons for that.. So you’re without doubt something very special to him, and we’re glad you make him live a little. But know, that he is very important to us, and if you end up doing more harm to him than good.. Then we will have a problem. We can’t afford to lose him.” Kiana said lowly, well aware that the captain might be able to hear them, even though none of the others seemed to take any thought in that. Or cared. Maybe they wanted the captain to know how strongly they cared for him.

 

Their conversation stopped there though, as the two in the tent finally left it, and Tom had a still sleepy Ryuu snake his way onto his lap. He greeted him with a warm smile and a light kiss brushing the mute’s forehead. “Morning, princess. I take that you slept quite well with our captains company after all, hm?”

 

Ryuu smiled, blushing weakly, and rested his head against the giant’s shoulder, while the captain joined them, petting the mute gently on his head. “I might have enjoyed it more than he did, Tom. I’m sure nothing beats cuddling with you in his mind.”

 

“He sure looks like you just pulled him out of heaven though. Thanks for taking care of him.” Tom nodded, eyeing the captain, who just shook his head in a tired yawn.

 

“Nah, was my pleasure.” Not really looking at the different faces, the captain didn’t seem notice Daichi’s presence right away. But of course he was aware, he had just decided to let them all burn a little. It wasn’t until Kiana had handed him some coffee and he took a few sips of it, that he actually bothered to really look at the many silent faces, that clearly waited for his reaction. Staring silently at Daichi, he just kept drinking from the cup with a blank expression.

 

Daichi didn’t do much either, as he found the silent, blank stare aimed towards him quite.. Scary. As if the younger was an atomic bomb threatening with exploding any second now. Then again, he didn’t look mad. Nothing on his face told the older anything about what he should be expecting, and it made him nervous.

 

The others looked confused at each other, not sure about what they should say either. And after a couple of minutes going on like this, Youta were the one to open his mouth, with a look aimed at the captain. “You’re not gonna scold us, get angry, anything?” He pointed his thumb towards Daichi with a frown. “You do remember who this guy is, right?”

 

“Of course I do. But I’m honestly too tired to scold anyone, and I’m actually just quite relieved it isn’t Amy. And there appears to be some sort of an explanation to this, that would make me forgive it because it’s Daichi, I’m obviously waiting for it.”

 

“.. You heard all that?” Daichi asked uncertainly scratching his neck.

 

“Du-uh. You think that tent is soundproof. How about you and I go and test it, and then the rest of the team can tell us how soundproof it is?”

 

“Point taken! No need for that, we get it, you heard it.” Sora blinked, before pretending to be extremely busy with his coffee.

 

“Ow, what’s that, Sora. No need to get all shy now, we’re all close friends here.” The captain hummed with a shrug.

 

Tom rolled his eyes over the commander, and the captain sent the commander a sugar-sweet smile. “I did hear every bit of it. And I’d also appreciate it, if you would stop threatening my boyfriend. It’s very cute that you’re all defending me like that, and I love you dearly for it. But I can and will handle him myself, if and when our relationship becomes a problem. I won’t be this nice next time. That goes for all of you. Understood?” Then he turned towards Kiana and smiled warmly. “Thanks for the coffee, keep it coming.”

 

“Yes, captain.” The team answered, as the captain were being more than crystal clear in the tone of his voice. Except for Kiana, who just stood there raising the pot that contained the coffee, smiling thankfully that she had kept her voice to a minimal.

 

“With that issue out of the way..” The captain turned his gaze towards Daichi again, taking another sip of his coffee. “Explanation, please.”

 

Daichi slowly got on his feet and walked to him in order to face the younger. He stuck his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “I got the feeling you needed me here.”

 

The captain raised a brow, meeting the older’s gaze. “That’s.. Not really an explanation, Daichi. And not enough for you to show up here, when I ordered you to stay back and focus on your own job, which is your training for the time being. And you’re expecting me to go easy on you, based on that alone?”

 

“No. First let me say, that I’m not really going against your orders. I won’t be participating in any raids. I’ll be staying here, while you guys are out, and learn how things work when you’re not fighting. That is.. Sort of training.”

 

“No. No, it’s not, honey. I also have rules about no one being alone out here. So while we’re out working, you’ll be right here, which means I have to pick an important member that I can’t spare, to stay back here to babysit you. It’s either that or I take you with me.”

 

“None of that will be necessary, captain. We’ll be babysitting him, so you got nothing to worry about.” A voice said from the door that led to the store, as three people with bags and boxes of supplies appeared from it. Dave smiled grinningly at the captain’s surprised face. “Don’t explode now, we volunteered.”

 

John nodded at his commander’s side, with Evans right behind the two, as they got closer to the couple. “It’s quite boring on the base, honestly.”

 

The captain sighed, and looked towards the three with a slightly worried expression. “Dave, you guys were supposed to be taking a break and use it for resting. It’s not even 3 days ago that you were out on a quite difficult mission, and we’ll need you again soon, when we’ve cleared more areas. Or in case we find survivors who needs help. Or something else happens, who knows. Point is, you should be home, resting, not here babysitting my dumbass boyfriend. Volunteering or not, what in sweet earth made you think I’d be okay with this?”

 

John and Evans looked at the captain for a couple of seconds. Then they looked at each other, smirking silently, before dropping their supplies off and wandering over to join Tom and Ryuu, leaving their commander to be the one defending their decision. Dave too freed his hands from the supplies, never stopping his grin. “We can watch him, your little camp here and chill at the same time. So relax. His reason is shit, but if we had turned him down, he would probably just have kept asking people till someone gave in. So we decided it was better to go with it, and let him get into to trouble.” Then Dave turned his eyes towards Daichi grinning even wider. “Good luck, buddy.”

 

Daichi just answered with a snort, but didn’t say anything, as Dave went ahead and joined the others so the poor man could face his fate.

 

“.. Well I can’t argue with that I suppose.” The captain both nodded and shook his head, unable to decide what to make of the whole thing. Of course he was happy to see him. Asking free raiders to accompany him, was definitely better, than if the older had gotten in his way by disturbing the working teams. But this sort of disobedience still weren’t alright, and he definitely needed to make that clear. But seeing as the older only had done it with good intentions, at was hard to be really mad about it. A part of him couldn’t help but feel.. Loved. “Daichi.. You really, really can’t do stuff like this. I’m not mad, but I won’t have this happen twice, and I’m certainly not forgiving it. When I tell you to stay home, I expect you to do that, no questions asked, and no buts. You’re worse than Amy.”

 

Daichi just watched him with a weak smile on his face, nodding slowly. “Yeah.. I know. It won’t happen again, I promise. I just had this very weird feeling, when we talked this morning, and ignoring it got impossible.. But I realize that it’s no excuse, and I see now that.. It was a pretty dumb thing to do. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

 

“Good.” The captain simply gave up, knowing that something similar would happen again sooner or later, as the older really had issues with following even the simplest of his commands. While it could be because of the age gap between them, which it often were with people much older than him, he didn’t suspect it to be the reason. In the beginning, Daichi had judged him a bit due to his size and lack of masculine appearance, but he never felt it as if the older had ever judged him for simply being young. So he rejected that as the reason. “Then what the hell are you smiling like that about?” The captain asked tiredly, waving his cup at Kiana in a demand of more.

 

“You called me your boyfriend in public.”

 

“Twice.” Sora added, showing two fingers and a sick grimace.

 

The captain looked between the two, and tilted his head. “.. Oh. Well.. Uh.. The other options Ren gave him didn’t sound right to me.” Landing his eyes on Daichi, he scratched his cheek shyly without even being aware of it. “I guess I did.. But it isn’t exactly like I’ve tried to hide it or anything, have I?”

 

Another flash went off as Youta  captured the couple’s equally goofy smiling confused, overly shy faces on yet another photo. “…”

 

“Youta!” The captain barked annoyed. “I told you to stop that. One more picture, and you’re done with that toy, do you hear me?”

 

“Can’t really blame him, cap.” Sora muttered, staring at the couple with a mix of shock and amazement.

 

Tom nodded in sync with Ryuu’s nodding. “We had no idea, you were able to feel shy.. Not faked shy, but.. Genuinely, actually, seriously shy..”

 

“Go get bitten in the a-“

 

“That’s only because none of you idiots ever give him any real reasons to show that sort of emotions. Superficial flirts, superficial shyness.” Daichi interrupted before the captain could finish his response to the others, which led the gray-haired to turn his black eyes right back to him. And he couldn’t help but smile over the surprised gaze he received from those, deep, dark and yet incredibly shining orbs.

 

A billion butterflies seemed to be fluttering around in the captain’s stomand stomach, as he just stood there and smiled at the older. “.. Okay, enough with this. We have work to do, people. Daichi, I’ll come talk to you before we leave. Once I’ve managed to grow a brain, or something similar to it at least.”

 

“You don’t need a brain for work?” The older asked smiling amused. “That’s rather disturbing.”

 

“Bleh, go set up the extra tents while we have our meeting, will you.”

 

“Sure thing.. Cap.” The older chuckled and walked towards the bags of extra tents they had brought, accompanied by Dave.

 

The captain smiled softly and shook his head, as Daichi did as told. “Alright.” He cleared his throat and turned his look towards Youta, sipping at the fresh cup of coffee, Kiana so kindly had refilled for him. “I’m not seeing Anna’s team here.. Didn’t you come with them, as I told you?”

 

“They’re over there sulking and pretending to be guarding the camp. I’m not exactly sure, how I’m supposed to get the raiding done with those babies, but your word is my command, so.” Youta waved his hand lazily towards the group that sat on the edge of the roof, chatting silently with each other.

 

The captain grunted displeased by the sight and shook his head. “For crying out loud, Youta. I said bring them by any means, but you’re doomed to failure if you go out there with them having that attitude.”

 

“I know, that’s what I just said.”

 

“Then why didn’t you do something about it?”

 

Youta shrugged and handed Kiana his empty cup, giving her a nod of thanks. “Sadly, they don’t seem to hear a damn thing of what I tell them. So I’m afraid you gotta go over there and use your magical captain-powers on them yourself, if we are to get anything done tonight at all.”

 

“You planning on going during night? Why, that just makes the risk of running into nightwalkers a lot higher, whether we cleared the place from activity or not. They need successful raids, Youta, not more failures.”

 

“Successful, difficult raids, cap. I’m sorry, but handing them an easy task won’t help them either. First they need to pull themselves together, second they need to realize what the real enemy is here. And they won’t realize that until they face it.”

 

“And if they fail again, and you all die, solely because you push them into something they’re not ready for. Then what?”

 

“You really believe that going gently on them is the right choice here, captain?” Youta smiled calmly. “Cause if you do, I’ll be happy to wait till sunrise.”

 

“…” He looked towards the group of raiders again, and shook his head. “I’m gonna have a talk with them. After that, I’ll decide when you will go. Ren, Sora, start getting ready. We’ll be leaving after this, so we can get to the new area before it’s dark.”

 

“Yes, captain.” Ren and Sora replied, as they got up to do as demanded, with both Ryuu and Tom right behind them.

 

“Oh, by the way..” The captain fumbled a bit with his back pocket in his shorts, pulling out everything it contained. “I made a list of my plans for the new team, while Sora and I were on watch. I want it put together when we get home, but at least with this you can start the preparations for it. I hope you got enough watches from that store.” He said, handing Youta the list.

 

The older took a quick look at it and nodded slowly. “Very well. I would say that we’ve got more than enough. But, are you really sure this is how you want it?”

 

“I’m sure. Why, is there something wrong with it?”

 

“Well.. You’re basicly putting the remains of Anna’s team, together with some new guys.. Newbies, so to speak. How ugly it may sound. It might not exactly be the best idea you’ve gotten so far.”

 

“That’s true, I am.  I am also fully confident, that these guys will make it work. As long as they get a proper commander, that can handle any issues that might appear. Not that Anna wasn’t great, she was just.. Just, uhm..”

 

“Mothering them too much.”

 

“Yes, that.. I guess.”

 

“Just like you do, captain.”

 

“Oh, shut up. Don’t smart-mouth me.”

 

The vice chuckled and looked towards the paper again. “You got more than 6 members here as well..”

 

“I think it’s important that Aito, Yo and Hideo stays together. And I think they’ll get more confident in a larger group, that contains younger members that they’ll need to teach.”

“Ah.. I see what you’re attempting here.. Alright. And who’ll be the commander of this team?”

 

The captain smiled a bit and looked towards the paper flower, Amy had made for him, that day where she had played around with his hair. Reaching up, he tied it to his ponytail with the hairband. “Down the road, I hope Daichi will be able to. He’s progressing well in his training and will make a really good tank, if he gets serious about it. And I think he has the personality to do it. Problem is, I’m not so sure if he really wants to do it.”

 

“And why is that?”

 

“Well, for starters, he could have been ready to go on raids by now. He’s not exactly dumb, he’s not weak, and he’s very observant. When he wants to be all of that. His only real issue is his disobedience. I give him an order, and he does the opposite, but when I call him out on it he’s rather quick to understand why I gave that order in the first place.”

 

“I’m sorry, but I’m not really getting what the issue is. Just tell him your reason then?”

 

“Do you realize how much time I would be wasting explaining myself, if I went with that solution every time someone questions my judgement. He needs to learn how to trust me as a leader, just like the rest of you does.”

 

“Alright.. And I’m betting that you’re thinking, your relationship might complicate that somehow. He sees you more as a lover, rather than as his captain. Then why don’t you just assign him to something else, problem solved?”

 

Youta frowned, as the younger’s face, as gentle and warm as it usually was, somehow suddenly had a bitter shadow lurking in the black eyes. “.. That would be selfish of me. I can’t choose my relationship with him over winning this war. And to do that, I need soldiers to fight with me. And he happens to have the potential of becoming an amazing fighter. As heatless as that might sound..”

 

“Well..” The older sighed and shook his head. He hated that, seeing someone so young willing sacrifice so much, and he hated even more that there were no trace of doubt to spot in the younger either. Of course he wouldn’t need anyone to protect him against a situation, where he might be forced to choose to break not only his own, but probably two other hearts as well. He was already more than prepared to do exactly that, knowing it would be for the greater good. Sometimes when he looked at him, at was hard to understand just how this young figure were able to carry so many lives, so bravely on his shoulders. Sure, if he only looked at the captain’s word from one point of view, Daichi’s or Maybe even Amy’s, then they could easily sound incredible cold and heartless, as if he was merely playing around with them for entertainment. But.. Looking at the words, and the shadow of bitterness the younger was clearly trying to hide, he knew that nothing would cause the younger more pain or suffering than hurting the very hearts, he probably treasured so much more than his own. But he was still willing to do it, if it was to protect these two hearts, and save heavens only know how many lives. One single, selfish mistake of his, could mean the fall of them all. “I would hardly call it heartless. You really love them, don’t you?”

 

The captain nodded slightly, sneaking his eyes in the direction of Daichi. “Nothing makes me feel more alive, then they do.. Yet, this job were just so much more simple before they came into the picture. Us being this.. Complicates everything, and I honestly don’t know how I’m supposed to handle this.”

 

“So what should WE do about it?” The older asked, making sure to point out the ‘we’, to let the younger know he wasn’t going to let him deal with on his own.

 

“.. I’m putting you in full charge of his training from now on. His emotions will only get in the way, if I have anything more to do with it right now. And till he’s ready to take over as the commander of the new team, if he ever gets ready, I’m appointing you as the team’s commander.” The captain answered him with a short smile.

 

“While I’ll be happy to take full charge over Daichi, you gotta be joking about making me the commander, right?”

 

“No. You’re the commander of that team. I know you’ve had a hard time being the one fully in charge of a group, since that day on the school, but I know you can do this. And that was a long time ago, it’s about time you let that go. We both made some mistakes that day..” He turned his look towards the doubting vice, and smiled warmly. “Youta.”

 

The older looked towards him, and even though he wanted to protest, he said nothing. Knowing the younger usually made the right call, and didn’t make any decisions without thinking of every possible outcome of it. Or so it seemed at least. “Yes, cap?”

 

“I need you. I might not have pointed you out as a commander before, but truth is I never did it because until now, I’ve had someone else who could do it. And I knew how you felt about being fully in command, so I wanted to spare you from that burden as much as I could. But you’re brilliant, and strong, and one of the kindest people I know. You make some.. Strange decisions from time to time, but.. There’s no one here more qualified than you. And I got your back.”

 

Youta stared silently at him, during the long speech. After chewing on the younger’s words, properly progressing each of them in his mind, he smiled shortly and nodded. “Yeah.. And I got yours, when you need it that is.”

 

The captain squeezed his shoulder with a gentle hand, before he started to walk towards the three sulking raiders. “I know.”

 

Youta watched him a bit, before he let a sigh slip out of his mouth, and he got up to aid Daichi and Dave in setting up the last two of the tents they brought.

 

Sitting down on the edge of the roof, on a spot between Hideo and Aito, the captain cheerfully the three, holding his warm cup tightly between his hands. “Oh Aito, why do you Hideo, making me go Yo.. yo..”

 

Yo blinked and turned his head towards their captain. “That was.. Really bad. Even worse than the last one you did.”

 

While Hideo and Aito gave off a weak chuckle, the captain nodded with a sigh. “Ah, I’ll get it right one day. It’ll be epic, just you wait. With the names you three have, there just have to be some fun phrase that’s just waiting to be said.”

 

“You’re not one to give up, gotta give you credit for that. You look tired, captain.” Aito noted, not even asking as to if he were or not.

 

“Yeah.. Difficult times.” The captain smiled softly. “You didn’t think, you were the only ones grieving our lost friends, did you?”

 

“Well, no but.. I just assumed you’d be happy or something, you know.. With the uhm.. Daichi-business going on.”

 

“My Daichi-business are more complicated than you think. It’s also very hard to be happy about anything, when I’ve lost two people. And when I see how much you’re suffering because of it.. Not to mention Anna.”

 

Hideo looked away by those words, simply shaking his head. “.. At least you’re handling it alright. Not like any of us.. I don’t know if I’ll ever stop crying. This all seems so.. Pointless now.”

 

“I cry too. You all mean so much to me, and to lose any of you never gets any painless. It’s alright to cry, and to be angry about all this but it’s not pointless, Hideo. Don’t forget why we’re fighting, cause once you do that, all hope will be lost. And they would all have sacrificed themselves for nothing. They deserve more than that, don’t you think?”

 

“There’s no way, we’re ever going to win a war like this, don’t you see that?” Yo then asked, before Hideo could even manage to think of a response to the captain. “They’ve already won, wheter we throw in the towel or not. What’s the point in fighting? What’s the point in keeping on trying?”

 

The captain turned his head towards Yo, grabbing the raider’s chin in a gently, but firm grip, as he looked him straight in the eyes. “They haven’t won, until we’re all dead and gone. But we’re still here, and I can promise you that I will keep fighting for you, each and every one of you, till the day they finally get me. I hope I’ll be able to be there to witness the day where you and your children will be able to live safely above ground, in the sun again, cause my job here isn’t done before that is possible. And if I could fight this war all on my own, or give them my life in order to save all yours in one go, I’d do that on the spot. But that isn’t an option I have. The only thing I can do, is ask you to fight with me. I won’t demand it of you.”

 

Yo looked straight back at him, not sure how he was supposed to feel anymore. Filled with sorrow and the feeling of hopelessness wrapped tightly like a rope around his neck. Something in the captain’s eyes, reminded him of why he originally joined the raiders, and why he had followed him for so long. But still resistant, he pushed the captain’s hand way and shrugged. “I’m sure you’ll quickly find three other raiders to replace us.. I thought I was ready for all of this, when I joined you. I’, sorry to disappoint you, I just..”

 

Hideo nodded slowly to his teammate’s word. “I thought I was prepared for this too.. It’s not the first people I loved, I’ve seen die thanks to them. I don’t know why this is different, it just.. Is.”

 

Having Aito silently nodding his agreement, the captain took a sip of his coffee as if the rejection broke his heart. “First of all, no one can ever replace any of you. You’re all very special people, that I have high faith in. You all willfully entered the job, because you had the talents for it, and because you believed in me and wanted to fight for me. For all of us. But you’re more than simple raiders to me.. It hurts a little, that you think I think so little of you.” He smiled bitterly and shook his head. “I might not know every little thing about you. And I’ve only realized recently, how distant that can make you feel to someone, but.. I have faced death and madness with you. Horrible things. I faced them with Jim and Chamille too.. I knew every little thing about my family. But honestly, I never felt as close to them, as I do with all of you. I don’t think I would have this will to fight either, if I was sitting here with them. In fact, I’m convinced I’d be more than dead by now.”

 

Aito raised a misbelieving brow and huffed. “You? Bull.. I don’t know anything about how you were with your family, but you were like.. Made for this. This life comes so naturally to you, that there just no way you would ever have ended up any different, than what you are, no matter the people you have around you. You’re a captain. A leader.. And a strong one at that, it’s like you were born solely to lead people through this hell.”

 

“It does seems to come awfully easy to you, cap.” Hideo sighed, looking down at the empty street, that was sure to turn active by hunting nightwalkers soon enough. “We’re nothing like you.”

 

“You’re wrong.” The captain shortly refused, taking a deep breath. “I only became your captain, because it was what you wanted.”

 

“You trying to tell me, you don’t wanna be a captain?” Aito huffed again, even more disbelieving.

 

The captain turned his head towards him and smiled weakly. “Why would I want to be a captain.. For the glory, or the power? Aito.. Believe me or don’t, but if you ask Eiki, he would say that I’d prefer not having to deal with any of this. I was never prepared to do this either, and it has never been, or ever will get easy.” Taking another sip from the coffee, he shrugged with one shoulder as he continued. “But If you ask the captain, he’ll say that it isn’t about me or what I want. And that I’ll be the captain, as long as there’s people around me, who believes it can’t be any different.. I didn’t choose this job, you nutcases chose me.”

 

“Uhm..” Yo poked him in the side with a curious expression.

 

“What is it, Yo?”

“Who the hell is Eiki?”

 

The captain blinked surprised. “I.. Uh.. Really? You don’t know?”

 

Hideo scratched the back of his head with a confused faced. “The name sounds somewhat familiar, but.. Are we supposed to know this person?”

 

“What the hell.. Guys.” The captain placed the cup on the ground, just to hold the dog tag around his neck up, pointing towards it. “Seriously.. That’s my name. My name is Eiki. 24 winters old, which means I was pretty much a kid when this all started.”

 

“You’re still somewhat of a kid..” Aito blinked, but then smiled slightly. “I do feel a bit guilty now though..”

 

The captain thought about it for a moment, then shook his head, rubbing his neck. “Nah.. Don’t worry about it. My name isn’t important, and I hardly go by it anymore. I’m ‘captain’ now.. Eiki is who I were in the past. And as your captain, I’ll be the one doing the fighting for you, whenever you can’t fight anymore... It’s my job, and my honor, to carry any burdens that proves too heavy for you.” He then said, standing up again, with a motion to walk away. “I won’t blame any of you, for resigning. You have indeed fought hard and long enough, so maybe it really is time I let you go. We do have some young potential fighters, we could put in play a little early than I would want them to, but.. Or maybe I’ll be able to convince some of the older to sign up, just till the younger comes of age. They’ll never be able to do the job, you three can, but if you’re really sure you’re done with this, then I’ll take whatever necessary steps to respect that. If it goes completely south, I’ll do your jobs myself. I’ll figure it out, don’t you worry.”

 

He just said, walking back to Youta, as the words hit the three men like giant bricks. They didn’t answer him, but the looks on their faces, was more than answer enough, as to what directions theirs minds was running off to. Reminding them, that none of what they did was about personal wants or needs, but also reminding them of his own humanity. He didn’t blame them. He had forgot about being more than a captain himself, and he probably still would have, if it hadn’t been for Daichi and Amy. He was still debating whether that was a good thing or not, but.. It started to seem like, they really did pop into his life, at just the right time. He started all of this, with his humanity guiding him through all of his decisions. He never really shed a physical tear but, he could tell something in him was different. Not colder or emotionless, heavens no, he felt every heartbreak and every defeat as painfully as anyone else. Still.. Somehow it did seem like his human self, had slipped away. And he couldn’t deny, that it somehow hurt, that if he died tonight, all they would think was that, they had lost their captain. And not him, as a human. Not Eiki. It felt.. Lonely.

He never wanted to be that type of captain, but it wasn’t the raider’s fault. It was his own. It was him, who had decided, it was better for them, not to get too involved with him on a personal level. Or.. Maybe not. Maybe he really only had chosen that path, to spare himself from anymore suffering, than what he already had to deal with, when a raider was lost. Losing them really was always hard, and a part of him always cried and screamed inside endlessly. But he managed to keep his appearances up, and keep himself together. If he lost Ren, however.. Or Youta.. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how that would devastate him. The thought of it scared him so much, that he simply refused to ever face the fact that it sure could happen. One tiny little mistake, that was all it would take, and they could be ripped away from him forever. A simple mistake.. Was all it ever took.

Maybe, he really did keep everyone on a distance, for his own selfish sake, more than for theirs.. At first, he had thought he only kept himself from relationships in the form of lovers and close friends, cause losing them would be too painful. He had lost someone important before, and it still killed him a little everyday he didn’t get to mourn them properly.. Not his parents, he was actually, oddly enough, pretty content with the thought of the possibility that they had died long ago. He was never really close to his father, and could hardly say he ever had any real relationship with the man, other than a really pressured, obligated, and stressful one. The relationship he had with his mother, had been a lot kinder, but not really anymore closer than the one with his dad. Neither of them were present, during his childhood. They both worked in some field in the military, or so he thought at least, as they both had uniforms he rarely had seen them out off, but they had both been very secretive about what they worked with exactly, and where they were when they weren’t home, which had been the majority of the time. But he still felt remotely closer to his mother, and he knew that if any of his parents had ever really looked at him, it would have been his mom. She was always the one to support him, whenever he had crashed into a brutal fight with his father, and always defended him, when the father’s disapproval or disappointment, punished him more than he deserved or could bear. The real one in charge of his upbringing however, and the one who had been there to tuck him in at night, or cook his dinner, or clean the wounds every child gets while growing up, had been his nanny. He never got emotionally close to her either, though, as he never gave anything for payed loved, not even as a child. She might have really loved him, he didn’t know. But the thought of her disappearing if his parents ever fired her, for whatever reason, caused him to block her out without ever asking her or giving her the chance to prove that he was more than a paycheck. No, the one who haunted him in his dreams, every time he closed his eyes, were someone much, much more important. He didn’t know if this person had died too, neither did he want to know. This person was the whole reason for him to avoid ever going near his childhood home. And the only reason, why he avoided this more out of shame, rather than out of fear.

But to think that this sorrow of his, had even kept him so far away from all of these souls, he himself considered so much more precious than much of his own family, the ones he would sacrifice everything else for, that they didn’t even know his name actually almost brought him to tears. How could he expect any of them to know how deeply he treasured of all of them, if he never let them at least that far in. Being their friend they consider their rock and support, rather than just a commanding figurehead was the one thing he had always been proud of to say he had managed to maintain acting out as, as their leader. That they followed him, because they knew how much he cared about them as people. He liked to believe that he was just overthinking their words, or that they just had said it out of hurt, but a part of him couldn’t help but feel it as a massive failure. A big horrible mistake of his, that he needed to correct, and that couldn’t wait any longer.

 

He joined Youta again, as the vice, Daichi and Dave were about to finish the last tent, lazily drinking the rest of his coffee.

 

“So. How did it go?” Youta asked curiously.

 

“… I’ve changed my mind. You won’t be going with them. You’ll take my spot in Sora’s raid tonight instead. I played a guilt-trip card on them, so I don’t doubt that they’ll come to their senses, and I know they can handle going returning to the field once they do. But it’s my fault that it’s come to this, I think.”

 

The vice frowned over the last statement, not liking the tone in the captain’s voice. But with both Daichi and Dave, and so many others so closely around, he decided not to expose the younger by demanding an explanation. He just nodded shortly. “I understand. I’ll inform Sora about the swap shortly.”

 

“I’m sorry. I know it’s sudden, but my guts tells me that this is crucial.. Convenient or not.”

 

“Don’t apologize for doing your work as you should.  I trust those instincts of yours, and if they say it must like this, then it is how it will be. Never doubted them before, and I don’t plan on starting now.”

 

“.. Thanks, Youta.” The captain smiled weakly, appreciating the understanding from the older. There were more unsaid words hidden in that exchange of words of theirs, and they both knew it. But it had to wait till another time, where they could talk more privately. He didn’t usually hide much from the raiders, but when the work with them turned into a more personal issue, Youta would be the only one he would share any of thoughts with, if he didn’t choose to keep them completely to himself.

 

“… Guilt-trip card?” Daichi asked muttering with a raised brow, as if he couldn’t decide whether to ask or not.

 

The captain turned his eyes towards the older and smiled innocently. “It’s nothing you need to worry your handsome head with.. Come with me.” He said calmly, before turning around on his heel and walking towards the tent he shared with Sora and Ren. Though it was obviously empty now, as his team members were still busy preparing for their take-off.

 

Daichi gave Youta a short wondering look, as he thought the younger would be getting busy with getting ready to leave as well, and were quite surprised to find that, that wasn’t the case.

 

Youta just snorted in response, holding the tent’s flaps open, as Dave crawled in to inspect their work. “You didn’t think he would just leave, when you caused all that trouble to get here, did you? He’s too much of a marshmallow for that.”

 

“No, I just assumed he’d be busy with getting out there, change of plans or not?”

 

“I would hurry with following his ass, instead of asking questions. Especially when the clock is ticking.” Dave declared inside the tent, before he crawled out again with an accepting nod of their work. “He’s probably just waiting for Aito and the others to come on their own, which can be at any minute.”

 

Youta smiled shortly, and helped the commander get back up on his feet. “That’s Daichi for you. When it comes to that ass, hesitating is all he ever does.”

 

“At least I didn’t hesitate for so long, someone else snatched it before my eyes.” Daichi gave back, shrugging his shoulder to the vice, as he walked to the tent the captain had disappeared into.

 

“Dang, Youta.. I think he just owned you.” Dave chuckled in impressed approval of Daichi’s comeback.

 

The vice rubbed his head in a sigh. “Just.. Shut up and do your work.”

 

“I don’t have any. I’m just here to babysit the boyfriend.”

 

“Oh, right. My condolences, and good luck. Could you at least do some sort of training with him, while we’re away?”

 

“Like what?”

 

“I don’t know? Teach him how to shoot, I’m sure Sora would appreciate that.”

 

“Sure, should be easy enough to find targets for that once it gets dark.”

 

“Don’t get him killed though. The captain might be placing the blame for being here on him, but he is putting the responsibility of him on you. He won’t get happy if anything were to happen to him, or any of you, especially since you so joyfully told him, he had nothing to worry about.”

 

Dave patted the vice’s back with an relaxed expression. “Calm your wrinkles, we’ll be just fine.”

 

“Leave my wrinkles be, they have a right to life as you do. And I’m just making sure you fully understand the seriousness of the situation you’re in.”

 

Not even remotely interested in Youta and Dave’s bickering, Daichi chose to ignore them, and crawled inside the tent to the captain, who lazily laid on the bed of sleeping bags as if he was about to take a cat-cap facing the tents wall.

 

“Sure took you long enough.” The younger mumbled annoyed. “First you disobey direct orders, and then you let me wait. What am I to do with you.”

 

“.. Whatever you please, captain.” Daichi answered him with a smirk, as he leaned down over the boy to place a feather light kiss under his ear.

 

“Hn..” Eiki hummed by the kiss and rolled onto his back instead, looking straight up at the man. “Seducing your way to forgiveness won’t work on me.”

 

“No, I’m sure you’re the definition of the term itself, if I went and looked in a dictionary.”

 

“Aw, I will need some wine what that amount of cheese.”

 

“It’s better than fighting, no?” The older chuckled, pressing lingering kisses down the pale neck.

 

A sigh that sounded more like a sweet moan, begging for more of the attention, escaped the younger’s lips. “Mh, yes, sure is..” Quickly heating up in a strong blush, the captain shook his head and smacked the older gently on the forehead. “No, hold your horses, mister! Don’t do that, the tent is still not soundproof.”

 

The older grabbed his wrist with a blank expression. “So? Ren is the youngest one around, and something tells me, he’s less innocent than you are.”

 

“You kidding me? I know where this is-“

 

Daichi shut him up forcefully, pressing his lips against the much softer ones of the younger, still holding tightly around his wrist and pressing the smaller hands down on the ground. A small whimper was heard from the body under him, as he broke the kiss just to let it trail down on his neck, where he bit down in the pale skin possessively. 

 

“Ngh… Daichi, no. I know where this is going, and my butt is definitely not ready to handle anything of your.. Hah.. Size..” He panted, trying his best to keep his voice and sounds down as much as he could, though the older made it more than hard for him.

 

“Who said I was going anywhere near it.” The older smiled satisfied over the younger’s bodily response, as his free hand found its way down to the smaller body’s shorts. “There’s plenty of other things I can do to you.”

 

“Please don’t though!” A high pitched visibly shocked voice, belonging to Ren begged them. “C-cap.. We uhm.. We sort of need to go. Right now!”

 

“Yeah, if you don’t knock it off in there, I will beat your ass straight into next week, Daichi!” Sora stated harshly, no doubt he actually meant it.

“The cap won’t be going with you guys, I will. Change of plans.” Youta casually notified them, like he hadn’t heard anything going on in the tent and didn’t understand what the fuss was about.

 

“Oh.. I see. But still, I’m really happy for you, Daichi, but please don’t touch the captain like that here!” Ren begged again. “I guess we’ll see you later then, cap. Take care”

 

 

This made the older stop immediately with a heavy sigh. “Mood killers..”

 

“What the hell did you expect, I’m working right now.” The captain fought to keep in his laughter behind his hand, as the older’s grips on it had released during the words from the others. “And this is not why I asked you to come in here.” He looked towards the wall of the tent, as if that would help him see the blonde. “Be careful, Ren. Just because Daichi is here, doesn’t mean tent spots changes, and you’re still the middle spoon.”

 

“Oh?” The older questioned dumbfounded. “Wait, middle spoon?”

 

“That’s adorable.. You actually thought that, didn’t you?” The captain smiled amused with a light kiss on the older’s nose. “Mh, I’m sharing this tent with Ren and Sora. You’ll be cuddly with the three people you dragged here.”

 

“Then.. Why did you? And I suppose.. I’ll have to accept that punishment.”

 

The younger smiled light heartedly and trapped the confused face between his hands. He had given up on talking to the man as a captain for now, but he knew he’d be able to get through to him if he approached in a much different way. So he looked the man lovingly in the eyes, yet with serious shades melted into it. “To thank you for taking such good care of me. Even if the world doesn’t allow you to, as it is right now. You have to let me fight freely. I’ll be home in a couple of days.. And to tell you, that I love you too.”

 

Daichi blinked a couple of times over the small chain of words. Unable whether he should be happy about them or not, though, a small smile appeared on his lips at the almost casual confession. The words sounded like as if it was something completely normal, obvious even. There was no nervousness. Nothing to reveal any signs of the younger being in any emotional rollercoaster at all, but all the older really could do was smile. It was this unexpected bravery of his, he had fallen for after all, wasn’t it. It wasn’t like the younger was really hiding his weaknesses in fear of looking fragile, not at all. He was only hiding them, in a place only Daichi would be able to see it, because it simply wasn’t the rest of the world’s business. “I know you do.”

 

“Yeah.. But I shouldn’t keep it unsaid. Especially when life is this uncertain.”

 

“Don’t say it like you’re gone tomorrow.”

 

“Don’t let yourself be so blinded by love, that you refuse to see reality in the eyes. I don’t fear death, Daichi. I simply wish to use my life to its full potential, before I run out of time.”

 

“.. I won’t get in your way anymore. I get it.”

 

The younger tilted his head, with his usual kitten look. “Hn?”

 

The older shook his head and pressed his forehead against the younger’s. “Nothing. I just.. I get it now. Don’t have any doubts anymore. I was worried this whole captain-thing was killing you. That the burden was too big, and I wanted to take you away from that, even if I had to force you. You saved Amy, so I owed it to you.. But you never needed to be rescued. This isn’t killing you, it’s.. Making you shine brighter and stronger than I’ve ever seen.. Anyone shine before. The whole world is surrounded by darkness, and think I somehow forgot how the light looked like..”

 

“You comparing me to the sun now or something? Daichi, I’m just doing my job.”

 

He shook his head at the younger and sat up. But just as he was about to explain himself better to the younger, an uncertain voice interrupted him from outside the tent. “He’s right, captain. When the whole world seems to hold nothing but darkness, it can be hard to see the light no matter how hard it’s fighting to shine..”

 

“Aito..”

 

Daichi smiled shortly and nodded. “It’s even easier to kill the light, when you finally see it, if you lose your faith in it. Trying to protect it, will only strangle it.. The only thing we can do, is following it, and let us show us the way.”

 

The captain blinked a couple of times, before he quickly crawled out of the tent, to meet Aito, Yo and Hideo, who greeted him with nods and newfound determination on their faces. “So I take this sappiness  of yours somehow means, you’re all ready to go?”

 

Hideo smiled shortly and waved with his gun. “We are, but Youta already left. We planned on running after him.. But why are you still here?”

 

Daichi joined them, as Eiki got up on his feet with a bright smile. “Since when have a team of mine ever left, without all its members. I’ll be crashing your party instead of Youta. Take good care of me, please.”

 

“Really? That’s awesome, Youta is such a stick in the ass.” Yo stated yawning, as he counted his bullets for the riffle, before going on to count his arrows.

 

“He’s just a little old fashioned, don’t be so hard on him. It’s difficult to teach an old dog new tricks after all.” Hideo mumbled, hiding his gun away safely, also in hope he wouldn’t be needing it at all. As a medic, he preferred not handling weapons if he could avoid it, but he wasn’t uncomfortable with them.

 

Daichi raised his brows, wondering if he should be offended or not. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

But before Hideo could come up with an answer, the captain pinched the older in the side, smiling warmly at the three raiders. “Alright, so let’s see.. We got ranged, a DD and a medic, so all we need is a tank. I guess that’ll be me, so I’m counting on you, Aito. I’d like for Hideo to stay close to Yo.”

 

“But.. Will that be alright, with Hideo so far away?” Aito questioned, again uncertain.

 

“I don’t want Yo to be alone, and we’re a little short on members here. We’re only doing a supply raid, and since we cleared the area last night, we should be fine. I’ll be bringing my A-game as your tank, Aito. And I’m trusting you to do the same.”

 

The three raiders looked at one another, before looking at the captain again with smiles on their faces. “Yes, captain.” They replied in unison, before Aito nodded. “Glad to have you on the team, captain. We’ll do our best.”

 

The captain gave Daichi a short look, before he stretched his body lazily. “Let me fetch my toys, and then we’ll go. And Daichi, glue yourself to Dave now. Time to get to work!”


End file.
